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Why empathy is essential for lawyers
In the current legal landscape, an award-winning lawyer argues that empathy has become a fundamental skill for legal professionals to acquire. However, this is not to say that such an approach doesn’t pose challenges for practitioners.
Grace Robbie
Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, Karena Nicholls, a partner and head of injury, compensation and employment law at Coutts Lawyers & Conveyancers, stressed how empathy is no longer considered a mere soft skill but has evolved into an essential component for delivering compressive and effective legal services.
In the same episode, she provided insights into how legal professionals can care for themselves while dealing with emotionally charged cases and clients who have experienced trauma.
Nicholls elucidates the role of empathy in enabling lawyers to establish more profound and authentic connections with their clients.
“Empathy, to me, means that you can sort of sit back a little bit and sort of feel what someone else might be feeling.
“It’s not really about how you see it; it’s how the other person perceives it,” she said.
Attaining an understanding of the emotional state of individuals in distress, Nicholls stressed, is imperative for legal professionals working with such clients, as it builds trust and enables you to guide clients through the legal process effectively.
“One of the key aspects in relation to dealing with someone who’s suffering from trauma or anyone really, who might be in a stressful situation is to be able to hear what they’re saying and then be able to sort of relate to them,” she said.
“I might be able to be more relatable if I say I’ve had a previous client that’s gone through this and this is how they managed it.”
Nicholls emphasised the importance of maintaining a balance between empathy and explicit professional boundaries, adding that while lawyers can provide emotional support to clients, it is essential for them to remain mindful of their professional limitations.
“I sort of try and pull those resources because I am a lawyer. At the end of the day, I’m not a trained psychologist or a trained psychiatrist, or financial advisor or any of those things. So I try to have a really nice database of resources that I can point them to,” she said.
She disclosed that the key to managing professional boundaries for lawyers lies in understanding “what your skill set is and what you’re employed to do”. She also stressed that “only [operating] within the law, whether it’s fair or not fair”, is essential.
Nicholls also said: “The main thing is that I know that I’m not a trained psychologist, and I’m aware of what my boundaries are. I also don’t let the client run me. [I] still have to be able to rein them in, to say, I hear all the things you’re saying. I know that this is not the answer that you want, but these are the options that we have.”
The legal profession is increasingly recognising the importance of cultivating empathy. In recent years, clients have been seeking more than just legal advice – they are looking for someone who will understand and support them on a personal level.
Nicholls articulated how she believes this shift is “driven a little by culture and society” and that “societies, cultures, genders, age” may play a role.
She also said: “But I do find that there’s a lot more sensitivity in the world. So with that sensitivity, depending on the type of case that it is [some require more empathy and understanding].”
