ESQ. BLOG

How culturally competent are you?

The most effective way to determine your level of cultural competence is to take an assessment. Absent such an assessment, Dr. Milton Bennett, who developed the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity provides a good starting place to review current perspectives around culture and difference. The model outlines 6 stages that give insight into an individual’s level of intercultural sensitivity and cultural competence.

THE 6 STAGES OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE

STAGE ONE: Denial

Lawyers in this stage are acutely unaware of cultural difference. The prevailing attitude is likely to be: “business is business the world over” or “everyone would respond this way". Lawyers in this stage of development might be so intent on the tasks at hand that they fail to notice the cultural aspects of business relationships with clients and colleagues. In this stage, there is a general lack of awareness about difference.

However, awareness is a key element in cross cultural communication. Effective cross cultural communication requires that individuals have some awareness and appreciation of difference. A lawyer in denial would be completely insensitive to their client’s cultural taboos, expectations, family norms, communication and conflict styles.

While in the denial stage, lawyers will be ineffective in establishing trust and good client relations with clients from other cultures. The failure to understand the significance of cultural differences may lead lawyers to implement ineffective case strategies due to the misinterpretation of client behavior.

For lawyers in this stage, unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings, along with an overall lack of understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication are common.

STAGE TWO: Defense

Lawyers in this stage will 1) recognize some cultural differences and 2) view such differences negatively.
Instead of striving to understand or interpret the patterns of conduct or communication that differ from their own culture, lawyers in defense are likely to mislabel such conduct as “wrong” “unintelligent, “dishonest” etc. In this stage, the greater the difference, the more negatively it is perceived.

A criminal defense lawyer in the denial stage will most likely be frustrated by a female murder defendant from China, who is more committed to preserving family honor than asserting a claim of self defense in the murder of her husband. (For many Chinese, issues of honor, shame and commitment to family take precedence over individual goals and objectives.) How effectively could a lawyer in the denial stage represent this client? How might the difference in cultural worldviews and behaviors affect the lawyers’ relationship with her client?
Clearly, lawyers in this stage will struggle to communicate and work effectively with clients they perceive as different. This perception may cause otherwise well-meaning lawyers to misjudge or stereotype a client. Negative attitudes and perceptions held about people from other cultures serve to diminish cross-cultural understanding and communication, ultimately undermining a lawyer’s ability to establish a healthy and respectful relationship with his or her client.

STAGE THREE: Minimization of Difference

It’s common for lawyers in this stage to avoid stereotypes and even appreciate differences in language and culture. However, many will still view their own values as universal and superior, rather than viewing them simply as part of their own ethnicity and culture. Consequently, it’s common for lawyers in minimization to believe that everyone else shares their ideals, goals and values with regard to family, work, professionalism, humor, communication etc. In dealing with clients, the lawyer is likely to misinterpret the client’s behavior, opinions and reactions because the lawyer will misperceive that the client shares his or her cultural values.

For example, in American culture when assessing credibility, lawyers may read a client or witnesses failure to maintain eye contact as a sign of dishonesty. However, in many cultures averting the eyes is a sign of respect to someone in authority. How will an inaccurate read on behavior impact the lawyer’s ability to make an accurate assessment of the credibility of a client or witness?

Lawyers in this stage focus on minimizing difference and in so doing they misread relevant behavioral and communication cues that are based on culture. Assuming similarity when none exists serves as a barrier to successful cross cultural communication.

STAGE FOUR: Acceptance of Difference

Lawyers in this stage acknowledge that identifying significant cultural differences is crucial to understanding and improving their interactions with individuals from other cultures. There is an awareness of one’s own culture and an understanding that although individuals from other cultures communicate differently, have different ideas and customs; they are neither superior nor inferior. Lawyers in this stage are beginning to interpret culture through a culturally unbiased lens.

Lawyers who are able to accept cultural differences have the ability to shift perspectives to understand that behavior typically defined as "ordinary" in one’s own culture can have different meanings in different cultures.

Flexibility, adaptability and open-mindedness are the route to successful cross cultural lawyering and communication. Understanding, embracing and addressing cultural differences leads to the breaking of cultural barriers, and the decrease of “culture clashes”. These skills lead to better lines of communication, stronger interpersonal relationships, mutual trust and enhanced client service.

It’s important for lawyers to have the ability to properly analyze and respond to clients as a basis for establishing effective attorney client relations.

The following situation was recently shared with me by an immigration lawyer. It provides a great example of effective cross cultural communication and lawyering:

The lawyer was representing a client eager to obtain his permanent residence status so he could take a long awaited trip home to visit family and friends. The lawyer reported that his client is from a culture where it is customary to pay officials bribes in order to expedite certain processes. In fact, in the client’s culture, such bribes are often expected. During a discussion about time frame for the permanent resident process, the lawyer gently explained to the client why his expectations regarding processing time lines were unreasonable and simply impossible to meet. In an attempt to “expedite” the process the client responded by offering the lawyer a bribe. In this situation, the immigration lawyer was aware of his client’s cultural background and was able to respond in an appropriately sensitive and informative manner. Additionally, since the lawyer approached the situation with understanding instead of judgment, the attorney client relationship was preserved. This lawyer reported that his opinion of his client’s integrity was not adversely affected. Instead, he interpreted the bribe as an indication of his client’s desire and perhaps desperation to visit his family.

This example speaks to the heart of the significance of cultural awareness and competence required to develop and sustain successful attorney client relationships.

STAGE FIVE: Adaptation to Difference

In this stage of development, lawyers are able to take the perspective of another culture and operate successfully within that culture.

Lawyers in this stage, are likely to have developed solid skills in cross-cultural communication. Their increased awareness, acceptance and ability to adapt to other cultures makes such communication possible. They are more likely to independently strive to understand the nuances of other cultures which most often leads to openness and ability to connect with others.

STAGE SIX: Integration of Difference

In this stage, lawyers have the ability to evaluate another individual’s behavior in the frame of reference of their client, opponent, colleague or staff member.
They will be able to establish rapport and read the verbal and non-verbal cues of an individual from another culture. This skill is useful in learning how to “read” people in relevant ways that are accurate vs. stereotypical. Lawyers in the integration stage become adept at evaluating any situation from multiple cultural frames of reference. Additionally, lawyers in leadership roles within organizations will define their roles by demanding intercultural competence and encouraging educational training in those skills. They strive to ensure that there is respect for cultural diversity that leads to a highly diverse workforce and client base. Organizations that have successfully embraced diversity and inclusion possess a significant advantage over other organizations when dealing with diverse clientele.

These stages clearly reflect that the further along a lawyer is on the continuum of cultural competence, the more effectively he or she will be able to communicate with clients and others cross-culturally.

If you'd like to take a cultural competence assessment, please give us a call at 704 814 6135 or send an e-mail to: Info@EsqDevelopmentInstitute.com with CULTURAL COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT in the subject line.