LAWYERS MEET THE SOCIAL CONTEXT: UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Abstract

Lawyers in Canada are practising in increasingly diverse social contexts. This paper identifies the need for cultural competence, and asks how cultural competence, which reflects the knowledge, skills and values demanded by the public interest, might be measured by tracing the characteristics of the culturally competent Canadian lawyer. Such a lawyer (1) values an awareness of humans, and oneself, as cultural beings who are prone to stereotyping; (2) acknowledges the harmful effects of discrimination upon human interaction; and (3) acquires and performs the skills necessary to lessen the effect of these influences in order to serve the pursuit of justice.