Bryan L. Adamson, Case Western Reserve University School CULTURAL ISSUES IN REPRESENTATION AND SUPERVISION The focus of my presentation will be the issue of “cultural competence” as it relates to clinical legal education. Culture, broadly defined, can be described as the total way of life of a people; the social legacy the individual acquires from her group; a way of thinking, feeling, and believing; or an abstraction from behaviors. “Cultural competence” entails having the tools necessary to effectively watch for, listen to, interpret, re-present, and respond to cultural “cues” (manifestations) throughout the course of client representation. Cultural competence also entails creating for ourselves broader understanding of individual or groups. In the live-client clinic setting, where students are given the primary responsibility in client representation, it is a challenge to motivate students to effectively consider culture vis-a-vis their clients, and how, at so many stages, culture may impact the representation. Cultural cues arise in client interviews, witness questioning, professional evaluations (e.g. medical/psychological reports), general observations, and may inform legal arguments, policy arguments, expert evaluations, or trial strategy. If the matter is transactional in nature, cultural cues may inform drafting language (e.g. wills, health care directives). Regardless of the legal matter, culture may have a profound impact on the attorney-client relationship. Meanings we attach to cultural cues, based upon our own experiences and our own history, may be different from those meanings our client’s attach. Moreover, our understanding of the cultural framework of which our clients, or our students, are a part may be deficient or, worse, ill-informed. Cultural competence not only requires lawyers to demonstrate competence in basic lawyering skills-e.g. establishing trust, credibility, empathy, listening, but an awareness of the ways in which cultural cues arise, and an assessment of the significance of those cues to the client, and to the representation. As legal educators, we can learn about culture and cultural competence by looking not only to social/political science, history, psychology, and anthropology resources, but also management, interpersonal, and organizational theory. Understanding the impact of culture on client representation can further our pedagogical goals of teaching students to more effectively manage the attorney-client relationship, as well as the substantive aspects of client representation. Appreciating the impact of culture in client representation also manages to reinforce attorneys’ pro bono service obligations. Exploring cultural issues underscores the significant barriers-frequently rooted in culture-confronting certain clients regarding access to, and utilization of, legal services. Finally, understanding the impact of culture on client representation, and growing cultural competence enables students to apply these skills to a variety of settings and environments-regardless of the “type” of clients they ultimately will represent as legal professionals. In teaching about culture and how it informs client representation, I present a few hypotheticals (real cases/changed names), or ask students to perform some basic exercises. I then ask a few questions to generate discussion surrounding: 1) cultural cues embedded in the hypotheticals; 2) their own possible cultural “filters;” and 3) cultural barriers and bridges to an effective attorney-client relationship. In my proposed presentation, will share three of five in-class exercises I conduct with our students. I would like to engage the audience in one (either Exercise 1 or 2 attached hereto) of the exercises.