Multicultural Lawyering

Catalog description

This course explores multiculturalism in lawyering through several different lenses. First, we will examine the reasons behind calls for diversity in the legal profession, examining how ordinary people view the culture of the law. Students will reflect on their own cultural backgrounds, consider implicit bias, and examine how to best navigate their own cultures as they interact with legal systems. Students will also explore how to best represent clients with a particular focus on understanding client goals and helping translate client values and culture into legal system values and culture, while always cognizant of their own values and cultures. Finally, students will assess case studies where failure to appreciate culture has had critical consequences.