The Westchester County Office of Assigned Counsel (OAC) has hosted a virtual seminar to explore the causes and effects of trauma and stress on its panel of public defender attorneys who represent clients in criminal and family court. Public defender attorneys are assigned to represent a wide array of individuals who cannot afford to retain counsel. Cases often involve traumatic and violent situations
The objective of the virtual seminar was to provide strategies to reduce the impacts of stressful and traumatic situations attorneys encounter. OAC worked in collaboration with the Westchester Department of Community Mental Health and community partners including as the Westchester Library System and the Westchester County Bar on the seminar.
The initial virtual seminar was titled “In Defense of Defenders: Understanding and Mitigating Burnout, Vicarious Trauma and Moral Injury.” It pointed out that when a client’s trauma history impacts the attorney’s mindset and emotional state it is called “vicarious trauma.” The seminar focused on how to identify sources of such trauma, and what might be done to deal with it.
Joseph Glazer, deputy commissioner of the county’s Department of Community Mental Health, who himself is an attorney, told the Business Journal that it’s not just public defenders who can find themselves exposed to trauma and stress while providing legal services.
“No matter how you look at the entire spectrum of the practice of law your client can be anybody. Your client can be the nicest person that you’ve ever met in your entire life or your client can be the opposite,” Glazer said. “As an attorney, you take your clients as you find them. We’ve all as attorneys had that client who has made life difficult. If I go to court with you and I know the facts and believe you should get a certain disposition and you don’t that could affect me. If I believe you should walk out of there with a dismissed case and you wind up going to prison not only is that a reflection on me but it can feel like a failure.”
Glazer said that the day-to-day practice of law can have emotional impacts on attorneys whether they’re practicing family law, criminal law or corporate law and that some attorneys probably don’t recognize it. He suggested that alcoholism and substance abuse can be manifestations of experiencing and not properly dealing with stress and trauma.
“Working 80 hours a week can lead to burnout,” Glazer said. “Having a crappy boss can be extremely stressful. The state bar association and many attorney associations are talking about attorney wellness. There’s a lot of potential emotional impact that the day-to-day practice of law can have for any attorney.”
Andrew Bell, a psychologist and program director for the County Department of Community Mental Health said, “Defense attorneys face a paradox — what makes them so effective in their work can also raise their susceptibility to occupational hazards: vicarious trauma, job burnout and moral injury. We hope that exploring these issues through the lens of trauma and toxic stress will lead them to seek out and implement some of the strategies and supports highlighted in the seminar to help them navigate the unique stressors they face in this important work.”
According to County Executive Ken Jenkins, “The ‘In Defense of Defenders’ seminar is a great model of how the expertise of one county department can be utilized as a resource for the well-being and benefit of county employees in another. This type of synergy is what makes Westchester County government strong and effective.”
County Attorney John Nonna described the seminar as being “on the mark and well received by the participants.”
Stephanie Perez, administrator of the OAC explained, “Attorneys on the Assigned Counsel Panel provide high quality legal representation to their clients. They concentrate on helping clients who may be experiencing trauma and stress, often absorbing this trauma and stress themselves. In crafting ‘In Defense of Defenders,’ the OAC’s objective was to focus on the wellness of these attorneys who provide this critically important representation, and to support them with resources and tools for practicing self-care.”
