The attorney education and jargon gap intimidates clients into silence

Evidence

Part of effective attorney-client communication is providing a safe space for the client to ask seemingly naïve questions. There often is an education gap between defense attorneys and their clients, and clients may feel intimidated by defense attorneys’ training and expertise, which can lead to a reluctance to ask questions. For example, acronyms like PCS (possession of a controlled substance) or BOP (Bureau of Prisons) may be essential argot for criminal defense attorneys, but most clients will not know what these abbreviations stand for. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 690

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: power asymmetry through jargon as a hidden mechanism of inequality in lawyering that expertise-based correction (explaining terms) may fail to reverse because the intimidation is status-based.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 690