Lawyers frequently encounter children in a variety of contexts—whether as clients, witnesses, or parties affected by litigation. These interactions raise unique ethical and professional responsibility issues. This program will explore the ethical rules, professional guidelines, and best practices governing how lawyers should communicate with and advocate for children. Using real-world examples and hypotheticals, participants will learn how to safeguard children's welfare while ensuring the highest quality representation.
Through a combination of rule-based analysis and applied hypotheticals, this session will help participants:
- Identify the key ethics rules and professional guidelines that govern lawyer-child interactions, including issues of confidentiality, capacity, and client communication
- Recognize the developmental and trauma-informed considerations that shape how children process and communicate information in legal settings
- Apply practical strategies for engaging children in age-appropriate, trauma-responsive ways that minimize retraumatization
- Navigate common ethical dilemmas—such as determining a child's capacity to direct representation, balancing a child's stated wishes against their best interests, and managing boundaries in informal interactions—through guided hypotheticals
