Understanding Lawyers

Dealing with attorneys is often discussed among mental health professionals as one of the more unpleasant activities one can engage in. I’m not too happy about this, especially considering that I am an attorney. However, I must admit that I understand the dread many therapists feel about talking to lawyers they have not retained. The fact of the matter is that clinicians and attorneys approach professional communications very differently. Clinicians and lawyers have different professional obligations (duties), and this often leads to some hard feelings.

Lawyers are obligated to zealously advocate for their client’s interests. For attorneys, this is a matter of professional ethics. Attorneys are trained to push to achieve their client’s legal goals, and sometimes they push quite hard. When clinicians get a call or a letter from an attorney, it’s often not like getting a letter from another health professional. Usually the language is demanding and forceful. But this is just part of the job. Attorneys take take the role of the advocate quite seriously.

I’ve always found it helpful to remember that attorneys who are engaged in legal advocacy are just doing their jobs. It doesn’t make dealing with them easy, but if advocacy was always easy then no one would need lawyers.

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