1. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner... And What Are We Serving? Cross-Cultural Competency in The Law Office

2. Cultural Knowledge Familiarity with selected cultural characteristics including, but not limited to, history, belief systems, family structures, values and behaviors of the members of a cultural group.

3. Cultural Awareness Development of understanding of and empathy for another cultural group—usually involves at least some internal reflection.

4. Cultural Sensitivity Awareness of cultural differences without assignment of positive or negative evaluations of those differences.

5. Cultural Competence = Cultural Knowledge + Cultural Awareness + Cultural Sensitivity Consistent policies, attitudes and behaviors among professionals that allow those professionals to work competently and effectively in cross-cultural situations. The integration and development of knowledge, awareness and sensitivity into specific standards, policies, practices and behaviors that serve our clients well.

6. Cross Cultural Competence Demonstrated ability to be comfortable with differences between self and others, to provide services characterized by mutual respect and sensitivity, to assess the needs and capabilities of culturally diverse populations, and to communicate effectively across cultural groups.

7. Core Competencies  Knowledge: The cross culturally competent legal professional knows the basic issues associated with cultural competence, knows her or his own culture and the impact it has on professional practice, and has knowledge of the specific beliefs and practices of the different cultural groups (broadly defined) with whom she or he will be working.  Skills: The cross culturally competent legal professional knows how to access available information and resources to improve services to the groups he or she is working with, and adopts professional practices to meet culturally unique needs.  Attitudes: The cross culturally competent legal professional acknowledges the importance of culture and maintains vigilance toward the dynamics of cultural differences.

8. Supporting Competencies: The cross culturally competent professional has the ability to:  Recognize the limits of one's own knowledge, competencies, and expertise and how those limits effect interactions with people from other cultural backgrounds  Demonstrate a positive attitude and approach to learning about the characteristics of different cultural communities and the resources available to serve them  Demonstrate an understanding of one's racially and culturally bound values and attitudes and to seek to cultivate a non-racist and non-ethnocentric worldview  Challenge assumptions, stereotypes, and paradigms of others  Demonstrate a basic knowledge of how oppression, racism, discrimination, and stereotyping affect all people, including the dominant culture  Claim one's own cultural identity; posess a working knowledge of that culture, including an awareness of how it affects one's own beliefs, values, and behaviors; and be able to present that culture to others  Contrast his or her own beliefs and attitudes with those from other cultures and challenge one's own biases and practices

9. Supporting Competencies Cont.  Demonstrate an understanding of communication style differences  Establish an approach that actively seeks out educational and social experiences that foster her or his own knowledge, understanding, and cross cultural skills  Adapt practice to different cultural situations  Acknowledge that one individual need not have all the answers and be open to one's self and others taking risks, reaching across cultures, and learning from mistakes  Acknowledge the role of indigenous helping practices and respect intrinsic help-giving networks within the community and its culture groups  Seek professional experiences (e.g., training, education, consultation) to improve effectiveness in working with others who differ culturally  Think critically on matters of cultural diversity

10. Developing Cultural Competence…  Is a process of inner reflection and growth. We must explore a deeper understanding of who we are before we can address the needs of our clients.  We must look at our own Core beliefs Hidden biases Religious perspectives and Deficiencies in technical knowledge

11. Families don’t exist in a vacuum…  Community standards Religious Familial Involvement Professional Advice from friends and neighbors Legal and Statutory Television and other media A cultural auto-biography may be a useful exercise.

12. Myths Preventing Cross Cultural Collaboration 1. That simply by virtue of membership in a cultural group, a person will be able to deal with others of that population in a culturally competent way. 2. That a member of a minority community who works or lives in a mainstream environment is able to represent his or her community. 3. That a single member of “the” minority community can represent the whole.

13. Myths Preventing Cross Cultural Collaboration Cont. 4. That a practice group or team should choose a minority community member to represent that community’s interests. (Gay lawyer for gay client.) 5. That because there are so many cultures, it is not feasible nor cost effective to have working relationships with them. (Choose multicultural liaisons rather than representatives.) 6. That the dominant culture is “the” culture or not a culture at all.

14. Myths Preventing Cross Cultural Collaboration Cont. 7. That the key differences in culture are lifestyle, language, foods and other visible evidence of diversity. (Key differences are trust and respect builders and breakers.) 8. That cross cultural competence is something we each pick up in time by working with people different from us. 9. That collecting information from a community can be “task-based” rather than “relationship-based”

15. Myths Preventing Cross Cultural Collaboration Cont. 10. That written information is more reliable, valid and/or substantial than verbal information, observational information or relationship-based information.

16. Iceberg Concept of Culture food/dress/music/ visual arts/drama/ crafts/dance/literature/ language/celebrations/ games Surface Culture Above sea level Emotional load: relatively low

17. Iceberg Concept of Culture Cont. Courtesy/contextual conversational patterns/concepts of time and personal space/rules of conduct/ facial expressions/non-verbal communication/ body language/ touching/eye contact/ patterns of handling emotions/notions of modesty/concepts of beauty/ courtship practices/relationships to animals/notions of leadership/ tempo of work/ideals of child rearing/theories of disease/nature of friendships/tone of voice/ attitudes toward elders/concept of cleanliness/definition of insanity/ patterns of group decision making/ tolerance of physical pain/concept of past and future/definition of obscenity/ concept of self/attitude towards dependents/problem solving roles in relation to age, gender, class, occupation, kinship/preference for competition or cooperation Deep Culture: Unspoken Rules/Partially below sea level/Emotional Load Very High Unconscious rules/completely below sea level/Emotional Load Intense

18. How Do We Best Serve Clients?  Get your team members to buy in to the value of cross-cultural training and competency development.  Make sure information is complete, accurate, timely and relevant. Use stereotyping wisely and cautiously.  Don’t be afraid to ask clients for assistance in becoming culturally competent; they will usually appreciate the ask.

19. How Do We Best Serve Clients?  Train for cross cultural competency in both directions—the language and culture of legal professionals and legal practice may be confusing or unknown to clients and their communities.  Start early in the professional/team/client relationship—perhaps even before the first interaction with client(s).  Practice the skills you develop. Don’t use chopsticks for the first time at an important dinner while wearing white.

20. How Do We Best Serve Clients?  Reinforce training with mentoring.  Check in and follow up with clients during and after representation. Make adjustments as you go.  Inform colleagues of lapses (yours or theirs) in cultural competence.  Don’t forget that the cheese keeps moving.