What is the consequence of the field of law being too homogenous?
ICS: I have written articles on cultural consideration in my practice. Lawyers often don’t have cultural competence to talk to talk to Asian American clients. I spoke to some judges about these issues, and they concurred. Especially when you are making decisions about families, assets and entering into cultures with respect to raising children. It’s very important to get across to lawyers – who sometimes think they know everything – that there are different ways to think about property, family or raising a kid. Since 2003, I have been advocating for this culturally competency to be taught to lawyers, and it’s kind of a tricky thing because they will often say, “Of course I know how to communicate it’s all the same thing,” while missing the point that there are different ways people communicate. There are certain rules in cultures that, once you breach them, you wont have the trust you need to adequately represent someone. CM: What made you want to become a socially conscience lawyer? I
