Trauma-Informed Law

Trauma-Informed Law

According to the authors of Trauma-Informed Law: A Primer for Lawyers Resilience and Healing,  “a key concept for trauma-informed lawyering is the shift that has occurred, both in trauma-informed care and in psychological perspectives, which is generally referred to as the shift from “what’s wrong with you?” to “what happened to you?””  

I need to pause here for a moment to take that in and ask, what decade exactly was, “what’s wrong with you?”  a preferred method of interacting with people?  

The book on trauma-informed law is a collection of essays by lawyers, professors, therapists and space holders and offers tools and insights from several perspectives on the practice of trauma-informed law.  

Trauma and Legal Education

As an example of trauma-informed law in legal education, the writer introduces concepts by reminding the reader of the law school standard, The Paper Chase. Do you remember the Paper Chase?  It is a movie about law school where a professor questions a student about a case until the student stress-pukes.  Teaching students in a law school classroom until they puke is one variation of “the Socratic Method,” which is famously applied in law school instruction as a way to teach reasoning and critical thinking skills.  The author used the plot of the Paper Chase as an example of the physical impact of long term stress on law students.  

How is Trauma Defined?

Trauma is a term that can be used too casually today to describe general feelings of stress and anxiety in the population. But to experience trauma is more than stress, it is a deep reaction to events often out of one’s control. Neal Brennan, in his latest comedy special on Netflix, used a definition of trauma for a joke in his monologue, by comparing it to a trend in girls’ algorithm as, “The T word.”  I thought he did a good job of describing trauma and differentiating it from general anxiety or stress.

Apparently, Neal discovered that women on social media platforms are making videos where they talk about their traumatic experiences.  Girl trauma isn’t part of my algorithm, mine is gardening and animals doing cute things, so I have never seen these videos, but I appreciated that Brennan provided a memorable definition of trauma by contrasting it with a social media trend: 

“…ladies, if you can talk about it on social media, probably not trauma! Just letting you know. Trauma’s a physical thing. Physical thing. Not a vibe, a physical thing that happened to you that’s so jarring to your body and spirit that you don’t know how to process it, let alone post about it on social media with captions and music.”

As the comedian describes it, having people announce their Trauma with a capital T when what they experience is stress or anxiety or hurt feelings probably feels similar to cultural appropriation or trauma tourism to those who have experienced and suffered from real trauma. Individuals impacted by a traumatic event may require healing from the experience and sympathy from others. That takes time and compassion, not a camera.  

To Be Trauma-Informed

In the chapter, “legal education and trauma” the author describes trauma and the trauma-informed law school classroom as, “one in which professors and students have a basic understanding of how trauma impacts the body, emotions, and cognition.”  Awareness of the effects of trauma on an individual’s well being can lead to improved communication between lawyer and client, student and teacher.  

Trauma is often baked into lawyering, which is why understanding how trauma might be affecting a client’s ability to communicate without being retraumatized will improve the relationship and outcome for both client and lawyer. 

Is Stress Trauma?

Normal stress is certainly not trauma, and even exposure to high levels of long term stress might not be defined as trauma, but high levels of stress over the long term are harmful both mentally and physically and should be addressed.  

When I worked as a law librarian at a law firm, the first thing I noticed was the stress level of my colleagues.  During high levels of activity, a looming court appearance or a corporate deal, the anxiety was palpable.  Attorneys and their staff often exhibited physical symptoms of distress, from tired, crackling voices, to shouting matches between co-workers. I even heard about an attorney caught sitting in the hallway comfort body rocking.  Was he experiencing stress or something deeper?  I honestly don’t know.  But it made me worry that his coping skills needed addressing. 

The essays on trauma-informed law provide tools for healing trauma, but stress wellness tools can also be employed. These tools can be used by attorneys and for those exposed to stressed individuals. A highly stressed person is like a disease vector and everyone needs down time to rest and re-energize.  I witnessed a lot of empathy burnout when I worked in the firms.  

As an example, I once suggested to a legal assistant, “Your attorney is going to have a heart attack if he keeps that up.  You should learn CPR.”  Her fingers hovered over her keyboard as she said, “But would I use it?”  

I knew then that she needed a break.  I hope she found it. 

Library Karma

Librarians create collective Karma.  It’s what we do. We are places of quiet study, appreciated by students, attorneys and the general public. In the firm, lawyers used to visit me personally to give me an assignment and sometimes told me that they were in my office for a small boost of cheer.  As a natural extension of that cheer, librarians have created some excellent wellness guides. They are ubiquitous in libraries across the country, which suggests to me that everyone is seeking a little peace in this crazy world. 

Research Guides on Wellness:

Home – Law Student Wellness – Research Guides at University of Wisconsin-Madison

Home – Wellness – Guides at University of Michigan Law Library

Law Student Wellness & Life Balance Guide

Student Wellness, Student Services, Student Life: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Wellness Resources for Law Students: Books

I am also able to share a link to Neal Brennan’s comedy special transcript, you can view his comedy special on Netflix:  https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/neal-brennan-crazy-good-transcript/#google_vignette