Emma Turnbull is the director and managing partner of Emma Turnbull Lawyers.

Speaking on a recent episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, she discussed the importance of having and setting boundaries with clients and why it’s particularly important for female lawyers.

Client relationships within criminal law, especially, according to Turnbull, can be more personal compared to other areas of law.

“You inevitably have a very personal relationship with your client. You need to know them, you need to build a relationship of trust, and they need to feel comfortable with you. It’s a bit like when you sit down with your hairdresser, and because it is a personal relationship, you sometimes end up walking away going, ‘God, why did I say that? Why did I disclose that?’ But in a criminal law context, it’s really important just to ensure that whilst you need to get that information from your client to help them with their case, that you’re not inadvertently disclosing too much of yourself,” she said.

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“Because sometimes, not everybody does have the best of intentions. There have been cases where offenders have been identified with the home addresses of groups of lawyers that they consider have slighted them. Or recent examples of offenders harassing lawyers to the extent that intervention orders and things like that need to be taken out. That is a very real part of what we do. It is absolutely the minority, but it’s important that we’re aware of it.”

There are also key situations wherein clients may try to blur the lines – which Turnbull said may have more to do with being a woman than it does being a lawyer.

“I know it’s not unique to me personally, but certainly it may potentially be a bit more of a women issue, [with] male clients. If I kept a number of the times that I’ve had inappropriate comments, invitations to dinners, things like that, it would be very easy to wind up in a situation that, as a professional, you don’t want to be in,” she added.

“And that’s simply because, to the outside community, you’re a lawyer, you’re working really hard, there’s a lot to be attracted to, and sometimes, clients want to pursue that relationship in an inappropriate way. And I think that would be true no matter what industry you’re in.”

The different nature of relationships with clients based on time isn’t uncommon in the profession – but it also means female lawyers, particularly in areas such as criminal law, have to be more aware of their relationships with clients.

“I certainly notice in my dealings with clients versus the relationships that my business partner has with his clients or when I look after one of his clients and vice versa, the dynamic changes. And I think a lot of that is inherently because women are, generally speaking, a more empathetic voice and a more empathetic ear. And I think that perhaps sometimes that is misinterpreted as an interest,” Turnbull said.

“I appeared for a client that was being managed by one of my male employees, and I was at the court on that particular day, and I said, I’m happy to do that appearance for your client. Met with him, sat down with him, had the standard consult that I would have with any client, went through his matters, stood up, appeared in court for him, and then received text messages afterwards asking when we can go for a drink because he had somehow interpreted that that might be something that I might be up for. I don’t know how often that happens to males. And I’m certainly confident that for the younger women in the profession, it’s a real consideration.”

As such, being able to articulate and communicate her boundaries with clients has been important for Turnbull, who added that although she has general guidelines for herself, every client has unique needs.

“[Generally], there’s no hard and fast rules. I certainly have some, but I totally respect that other people don’t have as hard or as fast a rule as I do about certain things. But I think that general protections, I mean, I have never stepped foot in a client’s house, and I would certainly, for me personally, I would be very unhappy if I were to find out that one of my lawyers ever went to a client’s house even for a conferencing purpose, because there has to be that particular boundary,” she said.

“And I consider that as an obvious hard rule. But each case is different. The needs of clients are different, the conflicts that will come up in each case are different. Personally, I think it’s just common sense. You just don’t put yourself in a position where your professional integrity can be compromised, or your professional relationship with your client could be undermined.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Emma Turnbull, click below: