As part of the Law Clinic’s exchange programme with the University of Miami Health Rights Clinic, one of our former students, Alice Bowman, alongside former Miami University student, K. C. Della Fera, recently presented their co-authored paper at the International Academy of Law and Mental Health in Rome.

This paper focused on vicarious trauma, how this affects law clinic students and what students and clinic directors can do to manage and prevent the burnout and vicarious trauma. Alice said that although lawyers often deal with the same client groups as social workers, counsellors and psychologists, unlike these disciplines, there is little or no focus in legal education on how working with vulnerable groups can impact upon legal practitioners. Rather, legal education is taught in an emotional vacuum. Student lawyers are often taught that only things relevant to their relationship with their client is how well they know the law.

Alice advised that the conference saw lawyers, academics, educators,  social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists come together to discuss hundreds of issues related to mental health and law.

Alice said “This was a fantastic opportunity for us to present our findings on this issue and I would like to thank both Strathclyde and Miami Law Clinics as well as Thompsons Solicitors for all of their support.”

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