The article Cultural Divorce, Part One: Introduction, by Abbas Hadjian, is first in his CULTURALLY SPEAKING series published in The Daily Journal.
The series will provide important conduct considerations required to deliver fair unbiased representation throughout each step of cultural divorces. The introduction emphasizes that while fulfillment of obligations and oaths of fair-minded representation is intrinsic to attorney training and experience, cultural divorces also require attorney awareness and understanding of differing attitudes surrounding divorce from the perspective of cultural clients.
The Client with “English as a second language” is not easy to communicate with. There are difficulties in understanding and applying the vocabulary, but also failure to read, misread, or understand the body language. The nature and expectations of attorney-client relationships are different among the cultures. So is the manner, means, frequency, and adequacy of attorney-client communication. The client may believe in the stigma of divorce and be reluctant to participate in the legal proceeding.
Hadjian, Abbas. (2023, March 21). CULTURALLY SPEAKING – Cultural Divorce, Part one: Introduction. The Daily Journal. https://www.dailyjournal.com/articles/371699-cultural-divorce-part-i-introduction
Abbas Hadjian is an expert in cultural divorce and mediation of Iranian dowry divorce who is dedicated to advocating cultural awareness training in the family law legal community through numerous courses, and the annual event Cultural Competency in Family Practice.