40 mm shot to the eye.
K-9 attack.
Officer-involved shooting.
Traumatic evisceration.
For good reason, none of the above are suitable topics for table talk. They are horrifying, tragic events that wreak havoc on individuals, families and others involved. In the midst of that havoc, those individuals and families often seek out litigators in the fields of civil rights and personal injury for help navigating the most traumatic events of their lives.
The Missed Lesson
While law school prepares us to analyze complex case law and draft compelling arguments, it doesn't prepare us to confront — repeatedly — the human cost of trauma. Yes, there are several professions where trauma is part of the job: firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, police officers, nurses and doctors. But the difference lies in two things: the training received, and the nature and repetition of the exposure.
Training
First responders and other medical professionals receive education and training on how to handle these events, often referred to as critical incidents. From what to do when responding at the scene or when a patient shows up in the emergency room, to productive and healthy means of coping for the professionals themselves, they are given the tools to deal with the trauma. It is built into their educational curriculum, and likely their continuing education requirements.
As these professions have understood and acknowledged for years through their education and training: Learning how to navigate traumatic subject matter is imperative.
The principle is similarly important for attorneys practicing in areas involving traumatic subject matter. Unfortunately, similar educational and training opportunities for attorneys have been and continue to be missing from the law school curriculum.
Exposure
While lawyers are not typically on the scene for traumatic events like those in other professions, they are required to rewatch traumatic events as part of their job — to figure out what happened, why it happened and where the liability falls.
Given the widespread availability of video evidence — whether it be from traffic, body or surveillance cameras, or an individual's cell phone — often there is high-definition video of an incident. While this video evidence can be helpful for a case, it necessarily means the involved attorneys frequently and painstakingly scour over hours of footage.
Many times, this involves parsing video footage from several camera angles and audio from a variety of sources, including 911 calls and the videos themselves. This has to be done multiple times throughout the course of the litigation: to draft the complaint, to prepare for depositions, to prepare for motion practice and again at trial.
The Effects
The truth: Witnessing trauma affects mental health and one's sense of safety for themselves and others. Rewatching and learning about the reasons a client suffered severe and permanent injuries or death necessarily affects the litigator.
In many ways, growing up the child of a civil rights and catastrophic personal injury attorney, I saw this firsthand. And, honestly, my brothers and I rolled our eyes at our overprotective father.
Biking without a helmet? No way.
Trampolines? Nice try.
Motorcycle rides? Out of the question.
Admittedly, after joining my father's team following law school graduation, I get it. The truth is that seeing what we and others in the profession see can turn you into an obsessive liability-proofer for your loved ones.
Your anxiety may rise while driving with family and friends. You may know where every distracted driver is around you and which semitruck is tailing too close where there's no chance they could stop in time.
You may check every pool drain, and every window in every hotel.
Your kids and nieces and nephews cannot pet the trained-to-attack police K-9 at the National Night Out event.
Trampolines and motorcycles are still out of the question.
You have preferred hospitals in the event of an injury. And you know which jails have the highest death tolls.
While some of this can be helpful and keep people safe, it can be a heavy weight to carry. And certain cases can hit harder depending on the attorney's stage of life. For example, a new parent dealing a case involving injuries to or the death of a young child might amplify their focus on infant safety.
Professional Lessons for Navigating Trauma in Practice
Take a clinical view — for the case and for yourself.
To be an effective litigator in this space, a clinical view must be taken. Staying objective is key.
Taking a case based on emotions runs the risk of putting clients through the emotional roller coaster of litigation and reliving their trauma with no path to victory. Not every bad injury or bad outcome has a path to liability.
You will be respected for objectively evaluating cases, even if that means delivering bad news (i.e., we cannot help you). Be thorough, show you are a subject matter expert and explain the rationale. Chances are, the person you couldn't help will send another potential client your way.
Taking a clinical view when reviewing traumatic events throughout the course of a case can serve as a means of self-preservation. It allows the attorney to focus on the end goal of helping the client at the forefront. It is much easier to review the high-definition video when you view it as simply part of the fight for your client — a task imperative to making things safer, and a necessary step on the path to justice. And it benefits the case to objectively review the evidence.
Understand the injuries to understand the client.
In many instances, clients have suffered both physical and mental injuries. One affects the other and vice versa. Understanding how the traumatic event has affected a client, including the various injuries and their interplay, can and should guide how your conversations occur.
Frequently, experts are involved in cases involving traumatic events. Involve yourself deeply with the medical, psychological and neuropsychological experts. They can masterfully explain the impacts of the events and injuries on a client, and provide needed insight to the lawyer. For example:
- Is the injured person a minor that has a false memory of the events that belies the evidence as a means of their own self-preservation?
- Do they have an organic brain injury affecting their cognitive functioning?
- Has their memory of the events been affected by what they've heard from others?
This knowledge helps the attorney meet the clients where they are, to know how to focus the conversations, and to prepare them for examinations at depositions and trial.
And, again, demonstrate that you are the subject matter expert, and that you are willing and able to take a large portion of the problem off the client's plate, thereby giving the client time and space to heal. This certainly helps to build trust and rapport. And it makes client communication easier and more productive.
Know when to step back and get support.
In times when the weight is too heavy, it is important to use the advice you give your own clients: If you're struggling, seek help.
That might mean talking to a trusted colleague, friend or therapist; taking a break to hike, run or just decompress; or using resources like Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers or bar-sponsored mental health programs.
Also, keep an eye out for junior attorneys on your team. They may be encountering this kind of content for the first time and may not yet have the vocabulary — or confidence — to say, "This is affecting me."
Make space for those conversations. Normalize them. It's not weakness — it's sustainability.
A Final Word
This is meaningful work: It matters, but it comes with a cost.
One of the biggest lessons law school missed is that we are not immune to the trauma we litigate. Being a successful attorney in this field means more than mastering tort law or procedure — it means understanding how trauma affects your client, your case and you.
We owe it to ourselves — and to each other — to talk about it, to build support structures and to keep doing the work, but to do it in a way that doesn't hollow us out.
Because, at the end of the day, our strength as advocates depends on our ability to show up — fully present — for the people who need us most.
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