Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
287.11 sec. 001 - Negotiating Trauma, Emotions & the Practice of Law (Spring 2025)
Instructor: Mallika Kaur (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 2
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
M 3:35 PM - 5:25 PM
Location: Law 107
From January 13, 2025
To April 29, 2025
Course End: April 29, 2025
Class Number: 32892
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 20
Waitlisted: 2
Enroll Limit: 20
As of: 11/27 07:35 PM
Discussing “trauma-informed” practice is relatively new for the legal profession even though the struggles of engaging trauma are as old as the profession. This course will explore how lawyers may better engage emotions, including traumatic responses, with a focus on strengthening lawyering to the benefit of the client, case, colleagues, staff, and self.
Emotions--every day and extreme; controllable and unconscious--affect case preparation, lend to client management issues, and make certain practice areas seemingly more challenging than satisfying for new attorneys. While the course aims to assist future lawyers (in any practice area), it will engage your current experiences as law students and seeks to aid in your visioning, preparation, and reflexivity as future attorneys. The practical requirements are aimed at providing real-life opportunities to practice deftly negotiating emotions & trauma, a regular requirement in diverse legal practice areas.
The goals of this course are for students to:
• Increase understanding of correlation between emotional responses & effective representation
• Understand how process, e.g. client interviews, can inform the substance of cases in ethical legal practice
• Enhance skills of interviewing & presenting on traditionally uncomfortable topics
• Develop capacity to work with trauma-exposure responses, without compassion fatigue
• Increase self-awareness, recognize biases, appreciate diversity with cultural humility
Through simulations and speakers, students will have occasion to consider vicarious/secondary trauma where it affects representation and thus engage with issues surrounding professional responsibility. Through theory and hands-on exercises, this course will provide the foundation for more reflexive and trauma-informed lawyering: sustainable and intentional legal practice that engages trauma without adopting it.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Wellness and Lawyering
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
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