Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Matrimonial StrategistKickerFeaturesSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

A Client's Cultural Background Makes a Difference

By Karen Meislik and Mathias Hagovsky
January 31, 2013

Typically, each family law attorney's client base is dominated by individuals of a small number of cultural backgrounds. One consequence of having a relatively homogeneous client base is that the attorney, without even giving thought to this, approaches all clients as if they were from those same cultures. Even when recognizing that a particular client comes from a diverse cultural background, the attorney interacts with that client and his or her situation as if that client was like the attorney's “typical” client. Unwittingly, this can lead to a biased handling of that particular client's matter. This kind of “bias,” though devoid of any negative judgments, interferes with the attorney-client personal dynamic and, more critically, can lead to “solutions” that are less satisfactory than those that could have been achieved if the client's own cultural background had been better understood.

To reach an optimal solution to a particular client's set of problems, his or her attorney has to be able to “step into the client's shoes; see through the client's eyes; and hear through the client's ears.” Otherwise, the “solution” can be a generic one, and sometimes that is not good enough. An attorney who “walks through a problem” from a cultural perspective of his or her own, rather than that of the client, is likely to fail to solve the problem for that client. The bottom line is that one must understand a client's particular culture because people with different cultural experiences may deal with things in very different ways.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

Protecting Innovation in the Cyber World from Patent Trolls Image

With trillions of dollars to keep watch over, the last thing we need is the distraction of costly litigation brought on by patent assertion entities (PAEs or "patent trolls"), companies that don't make any products but instead seek royalties by asserting their patents against those who do make products.