Lawyers have a duty to their clients. They should put their clients’ best interests above all else. They need to provide accurate information about the law, assist with the creation of valid contracts and advise their clients about appropriate ways to respond to criminal charges.
People with limited knowledge about the law absolutely rely on their lawyers to provide them with earnest advocacy and reliable legal advice. Unfortunately, lawyers are fallible humans who may not uphold their obligation to their clients.
In some cases, implicit bias could subconsciously influence a lawyer’s job performance. They may treat certain clients differently from others, which could affect the quality of representation that they provide.
What is implicit bias?
Implicit bias involves judging people for personal characteristics that may be out of their control. Implicit bias, also called implicit prejudice, can lead to people treating some individuals differently because of their race, sex, age or religion.
Attorneys may have implicit bias that they internalized because of their upbringing or common messages they receive from popular media. Prior cases with other clients could affect how they view certain people.
Implicit bias can lead to a negative perception of certain people that could then undermine an attorney’s job performance. In some cases, lawyers might provide guidance or advice that doesn’t really align with best practices because they let their implicit bias affect how they treat certain clients.
In scenarios where an otherwise competent attorney seems to have treated clients differently because of their protected characteristics, their conduct could constitute a professional and ethical failure on their part. Clients negatively affected by implicit bias could theoretically have the right to take legal action.
Filing a legal malpractice lawsuit can lead to accountability for lawyers who let the characteristics of their clients, rather than the details of a case, influence how they perform their job.