Ways to Address Bias in Workplace Conflicts and Trauma-Informed Lawyering

Evaluating and De-escalating Workplace Conflicts Without Bias
Workplace conflicts sometimes escalate not because of the underlying issue, but because perceptions are filtered through biases. Placing labels on people such as “aggressive,” “emotional,” “insubordinate,” or “unprofessional” can be due to biases and can shape assessments of what’s occurring, and when they do, they can create unnecessary escalation. This session examines —

• Conflict escalation, and how bias can drive escalation;
• How bias can affect assessments of workplace conflict;
• How to respond in high-tension situations; and
• How to document decisions related to a conflict in ways that are accurate and nonjudgmental.

Trauma-Informed Lawyering as Bias Reduction
A history of trauma can have long-term consequences that affect the way individuals communicate, remember events, carry themselves, interact with their attorneys and appear as witnesses. This presentation explores how our role as attorneys requires that we learn to decipher ambiguous behavior and ask compassionate and understanding questions of these clients. We will explore trauma informed interviewing procedures to adopt practices that make space for our clients to tell their stories and feel heard. We will also discuss bias that can show up during the intake process, case development, and trial strategy. Finally, we’ll help participants understand how their ethical obligations require them to understand and employ trauma-informed practices as part of their professional competency and in doing so, avoid further harm to their clients.