Attorneys function as family, priest, and therapist for their clients

Evidence

As we have discussed elsewhere (see Lyon & Smith, 2012), there are some lawyers and investigators who feel that this is undue “hand holding” of the client and is “not my job.” This is literally true—attorneys are not their clients’ family members, priests, or therapists. But in some sense, they are all three. They are the person to whom the client looks for understanding of the “system,” for guidance on proper behavior in court, for expert assessment of the case, and for the strategy that should be pursued. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 674

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on professional role-expansion (e.g. doctors as de facto social workers) and to trust literature (The Social Control of Impersonal Trust). — connects to: Lawyers act as client delegates or as trustees for assumed group goals — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 895; The lawyer-client relationship is shifting from professional dominance toward collaboration — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 756