This event has completed.

1/13/2022
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

NELA Nite: Cultural Competency in Client Interactions
1.5 Credit Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias
Thursday, January 13, 2022
06:00 PM - 07:30 PM Eastern
Zoom Webinar  
 
Lawyers must understand the many systemic barriers our clients face in accessing legal services in order to correctly attribute meaning to their behavior, to translate their story into our professional language, and to ensure that our legal assistance does not cause them further harm. The failure to demonstrate cultural competence not only harms our clients but can also negatively impact their case where it inhibits our clients’ ability to trust us, to be honest with us, or to follow our advice. How we understand our clients impacts every step of the relationship and litigation, indeed whether we even chose to enter the relationship, how we gather information, shape claims, assess credibility, generate solutions, devise strategy, and honor and achieve our clients’ objectives. Kel O'Hara, Staff Attorney and former Equal Justice Works fellow at Equal Rights Advocates, and Ari M.K. Jones, Residency and Naturalization Program Manager at Oasis Legal Services will advance our skills in client interaction by addressing the following topics:
 

• Myths and misconceptions about clients who are low-income, people of color, immigrants, survivors of trauma and/or LGBTQI+;
• Barriers faced in accessing legal services;
• Tips on how to work with clients from various backgrounds, including how to create an inclusive environment with careful choice of language and terminology and by explaining legal concepts;
• How to provide culturally sensitive services, including the definition of cultural competency and cultural awareness;
• Best practices for working with survivors of trauma and minimizing retraumatization during representation; and
• Working with limited English proficient clients, including tips on working with interpreters.

 
Ari M.K. Jones (they/them) is a LGBTQI+ and immigrant rights advocate representing individuals living at the intersection of these marginalized identities. Ari is a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law and was awarded the Tom Steel Fellowship from the Pride Law Fund in 2018. Ari has interned with Catholic Charities of the East Bay, California Rural Legal Assistance, and the USCIS Ombudsman’s Office. As the Residency and Naturalization Program Manager at Oasis Legal Services, Ari represents clients in their lawful permanent residency, VAWA, and citizenship applications, while collaborating with state and local groups on immigration and public benefits policies. Ari serves on the steering committee of the East Bay Refugee and Immigrant Forum and most recently served as Vice Chair of the State Advisory Council on Refugee Assistance and Services.
 
Kel O'Hara (they/them) is a Staff Attorney and former Equal Justice Works fellow at Equal Rights Advocates, a national nonprofit organization that fights against gender discrimination at work and at school. Kel specializes in trauma-informed representation and advocacy for LGBTQI+ students and workers. Their work focuses on ensuring survivors of sexual violence maintain access to educational and employment opportunities through direct services, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and community organizing. Kel’s approach to legal advocacy is influenced by their experience as a certified rape crisis counselor and community activist.