What is empathy?
Empathy is a huge concept. Broadly speaking, empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It is also the ability to understand the emotions of those around you coupled with the capacity to imagine what someone else might be feeling or thinking at that moment from their point of view rather than your own.
Why empathy is important as a lawyering skill?
Lawyers with empathy establish a better rapport with their client and are more aware of necessities, concerns and priorities, hence, this allows them to make better decisions.
Several lawyers believe that the practice of law simply requires concentration on the facts of the case and that it is useless to concern about the emotional state of a client. These types of lawyers approach their case as a factual matter without caring about the clients’ emotions. However, what many attorneys fail to understand is that having empathy is a skill of vital importance.
Each time a client exposes an issue to his lawyer, emotional feelings will be tied with that issue. Thus, they are deeply important as they have a significant impact on the case. A lawyer who listens to the client’s issues with empathy can strengthen the case and increase the gratification of the clients. Therefore, that client will go back to him in case of necessity.
Additionally, if you are working on a case with someone who is not fully participating, using empathy to figure the reason why that person is acting in a certain way may help you to have a constructive approach to fix the situation. Lawyers spend most of their time writing, and writing is an emphatic act. The main aim of lawyers writing is to place themselves in the audience’s mind, such as the jury and the judge, to understand what can most influence them when they are making their decision.
Advantages of empathic communication
Starting at the core, having empathy as a skill can improve many aspects of lawyering by easing the relationship with the clients. The greater the rapport between a lawyer and a client, the more likely the client will be to tell the lawyer all the important facts of the case. The facts of the case are the essential element to win the trial, therefore, if the client does not trust his lawyer there will be more difficulties at winning it.
However, a client needs to see that the lawyer cares about his issues and has empathy to deal with them, otherwise, it might be extremely complicated for him/her to open up about the issues. The clients expect that their lawyers understand the reason why they are there looking for help. Having a conversation in a rush and not caring about the clients’ problems will result in a huge loss of deeply important information.
In conclusion, empathy is an essential skill for lawyers as that would help the client to completely trust the lawyer. When a client trusts the person he has in front of, he is more likely to fully explain the facts of the case.
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