mnk owls presentation 8-30-12 for upload

7/31/2019 MNK OWLS Presentation 8-30-12 for Upload

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SAME WORDS,DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

Just put t ing i t out t here:

Um, what makes you the expert?From Outsourced: ht tp:/ /youtu.be/blmDm9Sekmc

One typical problem:Again, from Outsourced: htt p:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9k1fGypyEo

Melissa Kenney Ngaruri, Esq., KP Law, LLC


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Just put t ing i t out t here:

Expressed Frustrations Learning

Intercultural Communicat ion.I'm an attorney, not a therapist or a member of the diplomatic corps. The

subject is just too vague and touchy-feely. Clients should be able to just tell

me what's going on or just get me the records, it's that straightforward.

How can I possibly avoid problems if I don't know anything about thatspecific culture? We can't afford to spend extra time clients who come from

cultures where they chit-chat for an hour about their family and life before

telling us what we need to know for their case. I hate this P.C. crap.

Melissa Kenney Ngaruri, Esq., KP Law, LLC


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At t r ibut ional Bias A cognit ive bias affect ing the way we determine

who or what causes an event or act ion and what

that event or act ion means.

- Experience: How can at t r ibut ional bias backfire?

http://youtube/nhe0KSGoUgc

Melissa Kenney Ngaruri, Esq., KP Law LLC


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Intercultural Communication 101

Basic rule: Never assume you understand your client , and

never assume they understand you.

- Ask, don't j udge.



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Goal: Become a bet ter advocate byfostering bet ter communicat ion

Counsel = Counselor.

Work t o overcome natural human tendency to

categorize something not understood as wrong .



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Rule Number 1:Cultivate Cultural Self-Awareness

Ident i f y your own self:

Ethnicity, socio-economic status, marital status

Gender, childhood, educat ion

Age, religious belief, physical characterist ics

Melissa Kenney Ngaruri, Esq., David Lowry Law Offices


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Pract ice exercise:Self-awareness and general and specif ic culture norms

Saf e environment please. Please do not be

embar rassed t o share a st ereot ype based on your

observat ion of your par t ner i t wi l l help our

exercise.

Af t er sharing l ist wit h par t ner , we wi l l shareobservat ions wi t h t he group



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Rule Number 3:Know Thyself -wi thout self -condemnat ion.

You have always been a life-long learner of cross-cultural

communicat ion. Now become more effect ive by:

Not icing how and when biases cause you t o make

incorrect factual assert ions about a client.

Learning to refrain from judgment and assumptions and

instead uncover your client's facts.



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Intercultural communication 301

Your Toolkit : The 5 Habitsfor Cross-Cultural Lawyering

Habit One: Degrees of Separat ion and Connect ion

Habit Two: The Three Rings

Habit Three: Parallel Universes

Habit Four: Red Flags and Remedies

Habit Five: The Camel's Back

Sue Bryant & Jean Koh Peters, Five Habit s for Cross-Cult ural Lawyering, in Kim Barret t &

William George, Race, Culture, Psychology and Law (47-62), Sage Publications (2005).


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Habit One:Degrees of Separation and Connection

Brainstorm, as quickly as possible, as many

similarities and differences between you and

your client

Assess the signif icance of these similar it ies and

differences.



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Habit Two:The Three Rings

Analyze cultural differences/similarities betweenlawyer-client , client-law and lawyer-law t hat will

affect the case.

Assess claimant 's case, claimant credibilit y, legalst rategy, the at torney's own agenda, and overlap of

similarit ies and dif ferences.



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Habit Three: Parallel Universes Ident ify alternat ives to assumed explanat ions for

Claimant's behavior.

Habit Four: Red Flags and Remedies

Listen deeply , tailor scr ipts, use techniques that

confirm understanding, gather culture-sensit ive

informat ion, look for red f lags that communicat ion is not

working, make corrections.



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Habit Five:The Camel's Back

Engage in self-analysis rather than self-j udgment .

If a red f lag that recurs in interact ions with

claimants, brainstorm ways to address it.

Ident ify factors that tend to be present at

part icularly smooth encounters with clients.



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Everyday pract ice:What can you do t o comm unicat e ef f ect ively i f you don't know t he

cust om or cul t ure of t he c laimant in f r ont of you?

Speak slowly.

Translat e Engli sh t o Engli sh.

Talk t o your claim ant about cross-cul t ure at t he int erview .



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Separate Questions

Avoid Negat ive Quest ions

Take Turns



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Writ e i t Down

Be Supportive

Check Meanings

Avoid Slang



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Wat ch t he humor

Maintain Et iquette



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Real World Application cases inSocial Security Disability Law:

Hearing level use of culture to explain Claimant's near-

SGA Interview level use of cross-culture techniques to uncover

undiscovered severe head trauma

Audience Quest ions, App l icat ion Discussion



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References

You must read this Thanks to this article, I did not have to reinvent the wheel :

http://www.illinoisprobono.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=5995

This is a practical article with five habits that lawyers should develop for working effectively with immigrant clients. The author givesspecific examples and concrete suggestions for being a more culturally sensitive lawyer.

Sue Bryant & Jean Koh Peters, Five Habits for Cross-Cultural Lawyering, in Kim Barrett & William George, Race, Culture, Psychologyand Law (47-62), Sage Publications (2005). http://mainelaw.maine.edu/news/conferences/justice/SueBryantsagefivehabits.pdf

Some other good material:

A MORE PERFECT UNION by Study Circles Resource Center and Marci Reaven. Copyright Topsfield Foundation and Marci Reaven1997. http://www.pbs.org/ampu/crosscult.htm l

Nice little blog on intercultural communication experiences: http://interculturalmemories.blogspot.com/

Also a good site with a good blog: http://www.languageandculture.com/ and http://navigatingcultures.com/blog/

Definition of high-context and low-context cultures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_context_culture

Client Centered Representation, Ron Tyler http://www.fd.org/pdf_lib/MT07_ClientCenteredRep.pdf good exercises for cross-culturalpractice.


mnk owls presentation 8-30-12 for upload

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