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Lawyers and Clients: Maintaining a Balance between Professionalism and Compassion

By Zohaa Khalid



As a legal representative in the UK, solicitors are faced with the constant difficulty of working in a professional capacity with clients, while also ensuring their clients’ needs are met in an adequate and acceptable manner. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recognises this struggle, and provides principles that solicitors are required to abide by when interacting with potential or existing clients. Examples of principles include affirming the “rule of law and the proper administration of justice” [...] “in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession”; this should be conducted with “independence,” “honesty,” “integrity,” and “in the best interests of each client.”[1] The SRA also reports on improper or abusive litigation, commenting on “predatory litigation involving clients”, “misleading the court”, and “conducting knowingly unwinnable cases”.[2] These actions can negatively impact a client’s circumstances, potentially risking the solicitor in question’s practicing license as well. It is important to note that the SRA have published guidelines for interactions between privileged individuals and a client’s case, as “consumers are at [most] risk if their solicitor acts unethically” according to the Authority.[3] 

 

Considering the SRA’s specifications, it would be expected that upholding sufficient boundaries between lawyers and their clients is a straightforward endeavour. However, while interning at a largely celebrated law firm in London and shadowing their Family, Immigration and Criminal Defence departments, I discovered how it is not as simple or linear a process as one would assume. In keeping with being both respectful and supportive, many solicitors across the country describe how demanding it can be to balance legal duties with moral responsibilities towards their clients, especially in cases where there are distressing or traumatic events involved. In addition, dilemmas such as language barriers - where individuals are still learning to assimilate into British culture - may create issues with preserving professional tones, as translating legal wording into other languages and dialects might not accurately represent its true meaning, even if it may be similar.

 

Furthermore, in many scenarios, practicing solicitors are asked to overcome the challenge of retaining a client’s trust with their case as a consequence of implementing a “professional boundary”, particularly when it comes to everyday practice. As consumers, clients hold the right to consistent service from the solicitors that they have hired, even if it is via Legal Aid. This was established by the Human Rights Act of 1998, which notes that everyone is entitled to a fair trial and therefore fair legal representation.[4] Nevertheless, with how busy office life can get for a member of staff, it is often a struggle being able to find an appropriate amount of time to handle every matter, especially when there are a number of other urgent affairs pending. To illustrate how unpredictable life as a solicitor is, Hannah Newbury, a family solicitor at Hugh James, published an article on The Law Society about her experience.[5] Newbury states how “Some days I’m looking at documents for seven hours, and other days I’m with clients all day. The best type of day is when you can go through a little bit of everything! So, my days really fluctuate,” emphasising how complicated it can be to manage a solicitor’s workload, especially when there are multiple clients to look after and tend to.

 

In essence, allocating sufficient time to each task, while also maintaining a professional relationship with clients, can be seen as a mentally taxing job. Corey S. Shdaimah discusses the multiple avenues of stress that accumulate on every lawyer’s desk in her book: Negotiating Justice.[6] Here, Shdaimah hones in on the emotional involvement of solicitors in a client’s personal issues, where abuse and neglect fosters a natural instinct in a solicitor to comfort their client, which can reflect as inappropriate and thus unprofessional. In spite of a solicitor’s intention to appear emotionally available and cooperative due to prior dehumanising treatment towards the client, it is vital that all engagement remains within a professional capacity, which has proved to be a major obstacle in getting clients to have faith in the legal system. If clients cannot receive an intimate level of empathy from their legal representatives who are meant to protect them, are they really fulfilling their role and meeting the needs of these vulnerable individuals reaching out for support?

 

In order to tackle the concern of having a truthful and ethical relationship with clients - despite this being a complex matter that does not have a simple solution - other sources have tried to establish ways to maintain a professional boundary justly. In Volume 28 of the Family Law Quarterly, Forrest S. Mosten dives into how significant it is for a lawyer to remain ethically responsible amidst their interactions with clients, as they must be careful to avoid malpractice claims, which can damage their relationship if clients feel that their needs are not being covered.[7] Moreover, Mosten focuses on how lawyers are encouraged to educate their clients about their legal rights, as being detailed and thorough may help maintain concise, effective communication between all parties. Hence, it may be plausible to suggest that Charles Fried’s attempt to apply the concept of a “legal friendship” in his article from The Yale Law Journal can prove to be beneficial, allowing solicitors to advocate for their clients, alongside guaranteeing moral integrity.[8]

Overall, it is clear that the nature of working in law suggests that there may never be a perfect answer to keeping a balance between professionalism and compassion. It begs the question of subjectivity, ethical judgement, and legal understanding, dependent on the sensitivity of each client and their case. While the SRA provides a clear ethical framework intended to safeguard clients and the integrity of the legal profession, the practical application of these principles reveal a far more nuanced reality, one which academics such as Shdaimah, Mosten, and Fried deconstruct and discern in their writing. Emotional involvement, heavy workloads, and communication barriers can all strain the solicitor-client dynamic, risking ethical breaches and diminished trust. Therefore, instead of viewing professional boundaries as restrictive limitations, it is important to perceive them as an adaptable safeguard, requiring constant reflection and ethical awareness. Ultimately, upholding professionalism while being compassionate and remaining human is essential to maintaining public confidence in the justice system.


Sources:



Edited by Artyom Timofeev


 
 
 

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