To Advocate or to Counsel? That is the question!

Dear Rookie Advocate,

Ever wondered why we are admitted to the Bar as Advocates but referred to as ‘Counsel’? What does giving people advice and guidance got to do with advocacy? Aren’t there enough psychologists to talk people through their challenges? Why can’t we just do what we were called (to the Bar) to do? To advocate, to champion our Client’s cause!

The Advocate is the caricature of a lawyer’s job. Pop culture rarely depicts a lawyer as a poised Counselor that helps their Clients to get to an amicable resolution. This is why our families and friends think that our daily work life is one epic episode of ‘Suits’ after another. We do, however, know that that couldn’t be further from the truth. Or at least we should know.

Should we be advocating for advocacy’s sake? If we are honest, a good number of the cases and applications that flood the Courts should have been an email thread, phone conversation or the good ol’ sit down. If we haven’t taken the time to be a real Counselor to our Clients, are we really championing their cause or only what we have hurriedly concluded is their cause?

What is to us just another Court appearance is often a life altering experience for our Clients. Some Clients come to us with a mixed bag of emotions, literally on the verge of a breakdown and desperately in need of legal guidance. They have no interest in taking the front row seat at the battle of wits between two overzealous Advocates.

While we are not trained to give emotional support, giving legal advice that is rooted in empathy could help ease Clients’ anxieties. Empathy has proven therapeutic effects. Sometimes all they need is a nudge in the direction of a solution that they may already know is the best. And at other times a listening ear is sufficient to have them sober up enough to know exactly what to do for their case.

Sincerely exploring less adversarial and cost-effective options should precede litigation especially in cases that involve core relationships such as family law and probate cases. Counselors conduct assessments before they plunge into treating their Clients and so should we.

Legal counsel alone may not always be the answer but if we are intentional, we will become better at assessing which ‘hat’ to wear. It will always be worth our time to pause and consider whether to Advocate or to Counsel.

Emmanuela