Learning how to be successful advocates

via ‘A day in the life of Harvard Law School’s legal clinics’ by Harvard Law Today

hat lawyers should know when working with clients who have experienced trauma is the focus of the presentation Virginia Wright ’21 is delivering tonight to a class on employment law advocacy at HLS. As a student in the Employment Law Clinic this semester, Wright is working at the law firm of Sherin and Lodgen, in Boston.

The clinic, under the direction of Lecturer Steve Churchill ’93, focuses on rights in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, sex, disability, and other protected characteristics. Students work with clients to address issues such as unemployment benefits, wage and hour claims, severance negotiations, union issues and workplace safety.

“The burden of building a relationship with clients is on us as attorneys,” said Wright. “We must learn how to recognize and respond to trauma signals if we want to be successful advocates.”