Providing culturally competent legal services to our clients and client communities is an important obligation. Part of being competent requires that we become more effective in communicating with our clients – getting and giving accurate information – and providing appropriate solutions regardless of cultural background. In the courtroom and the administrative hearing, we must be able to translate our client's situation for the decision maker, who many times differs in background, identity and experiences from our clients.

Once we've achieved a rudimentary knowledge and understanding of cultural differences and communication difficulties with clients, we must consider practical steps to diminish the unfair impact of these problems in trials and hearings. The basic strategy must focus on minimizing cultural misunderstanding in the courtroom or hearing itself.  Cultural differences should be taken into account where necessary to assure a fair result.  Expert testimony and declarations as well as background evidence are among the channels by which such evidence can be presented.

Cultural Competence
• Awareness of one’s own cultural values

• Awareness that people of different cultures have different ways of communicating, behaving, and problem solving

• Ability to address cultural barriers that affect communication between advocates and clients.

• Ability to represent client's perspective in a variety of forums

• Commitment to a life-long pursuit of understanding different cultures and developing skills to improve cultural competence

• Ability to provide services that are meaningful and fit with the cultural beliefs and client lifestyles.

• Balance between an individual’s autonomy or freedom to practice personal beliefs vs. the right of a community to be protected from harm.

Cultural Competency Continuum
www.pitt.edu/~super1/ lecture/lec4271/027.htm

Cultural Destructiveness: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that are destructive to a culture and its members. Examples include racism, stereotyping, collusion, and exclusionary practices.

Cultural Indifference: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that are ignorant of or indifferent to the importance of cultural diversity and the impact of culture on legal services.

Cultural Awareness: Behaviors, attitudes and policies that begin to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences, acknowledge disparities, and refrain from making value judgments. Builds understanding of assumptions and values upon which and individual’s behavior and world-view rest. Includes cultural self-awareness as the basis for accepting other cultural beliefs and values.

Cultural Competence: The life-long commitment to developing the beliefs, attitudes, values, skills and policies necessary to respond with respect and empathy to people of all races, religions, ethnicities, income levels, and identities in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of the individual, family, and community.

Cultural Proficiency: Advanced cultural competence demonstrated by participation in research to add to the body of knowledge, develop new approaches and disseminate findings pertaining to culturally competent practices.