It’s obvious that lawyers can’t solve every client problem; less obvious is how lawyers respond to the array of client problems that arise around every case. Interdisciplinary teams may be the solution.
Let’s take the common scenario of a client you can’t seem to manage. Maybe she asked for help with a family law case, but she repeatedly cancels consultation appointments. When she does come into the office, she’s two hours late and is highly emotional. She doesn’t have any of the paperwork she was asked to bring, and she cannot remember dates of major events relevant to the case.
Would you dismiss her as an uncooperative client? Or perhaps as an unprofitable case, given the likely amount of hand-holding and emotional management involved?
If you rely only on your strengths and training as a lawyer, you might turn away the very people who could most use your services.
An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Now, imagine that your team includes a law clerk with an undergraduate degree in social work. He recalls a guest lecture from a psychologist regarding trauma. He recognizes signs that this potential client is not merely being difficult, but that she has suffered genuine trauma.
With his undergraduate training in hand, the clerk shows compassion, walking the client through each appointment in her case, obtaining information needed from previously filed police records, and talking with her before each court appearance. With the process and personal support from the clerk, she walks into the courtroom prepared and empowered. The judge grants her request for protective order and rules in her favor in the custody case with her daughter.
Had the law student not known about recognizing signs of trauma, the case may have gone very differently. A lawyer demanding that a client produce perfect paperwork and remember every detail of their case while they are going through trauma would not have motivated the client to do what was needed. This is just one example of how interdisciplinary teams can help lawyers not only perform better in their work, but produce better results for their clients.
(Reference: The Pedagogy of Trauma-Informed Lawyering by Sarah Katz and Deeya Haldar)
A Model of Diverse Problem Solvers
In his book Dream Teams, Shane Snow talks about needing different perspectives in order to solve a problem. He argues that dream teams benefit from diversity of background and opinion.
One analogy Snow uses to explain the value of diverse teams is to pretend there are six glasses in a row. Three glasses on the left are filled with milk and three on the right are empty. By only moving one glass, can you make it so that empty glasses alternate with filled glasses?
This will probably stump most people until they’re given the clue that the solution lies in moving the milk like a chemist. (Spoiler ahead if you’re still trying to figure this out on your own.)
The solution is to pick up the middle glass of milk and pour it into the middle empty glass. You’ve only moved one glass, and the glasses now alternate in the row between full, empty, full, empty, etc.
If you’re a chemist, this solution might more easily present itself to you. But a forklift operator would also likely solve this problem quickly as someone who moves objects around all day. The problem solver’s unique experience provides unique solutions.
Snow quotes Doctor Scott Page, saying “Teams with diverse mental tool kits consistently outperform groups of the ‘best and the brightest.’”
Creating Your Own Interdisciplinary Team
Building interdisciplinary might mean hiring internally, or it might involve crafting a network of partners and outside contractors—or both.
Wherever you find human capital with diverse training and experience, take these steps to shape your team:
In simple terms, craft a statement about what you want your team to accomplish. That way, everyone knows what you are working on or towards. This should be based on particular products or service workflows. No vague missions. That way, each team member will know that you want to climb a mountain, not parkour around a city landscape.
Based on your mission, you need to define which roles you will be hiring for or collaborating with, but don’t go too fast. If your capacity allows you to hire five people, start with three. This will allow you to grow with your mission. It can be difficult to determine which skills you need at the outset.
When bringing talent in-house, try to hire overlapping skill sets, and especially interview for people who are willing to change, willing to learn, and naturally curious. This will give your team common ground with each other while still being able to bring their unique perspectives to the table. And a desire to learn, change, grow, and ask questions of the other team members is invaluable: it will give your people room to grow.
Resources for Building Interdisciplinary Teams
Conclusion
If you bring in diverse perspectives and heuristics, you’ll be a more holistic counselor as a lawyer. It will not only make your job easier, it will produce better results for your clients. Being able to understand a client’s diversity of needs and serve them with a diverse team can turn a seemingly difficult client into a successful case.