Training for legal professionals
Vulnerable clients training for solicitors and law firms
A short, practical session on spotting hidden mental health needs and vulnerability in the people you represent, from a consultant clinical psychologist who assesses them for the courts. The content is shaped around your firm, your practice areas and the situations your team sees.
Watch: Working with Vulnerability
Watch: Hidden mental health
What the session covers
- Recognising signs of hidden mental health needs and vulnerability in clients
- When a psychological or mental capacity assessment may help a case
- Time for your team’s questions and the issues you are seeing
Each session is tailored to your firm and the kind of work you do. A limited number of places are offered at no charge to legal professionals working in legal aid. For firms that want a formal CPD package, with monitoring and evaluation, the fee is £850 plus VAT, plus travel costs where applicable.
Session format: 45 to 60 minutes, in person or online
Most firms run it as a lunch and learn, with questions at the end. We deliver in person at your offices across London, the South East, the East of England and up to the Midlands, or online.
Why firms are asking for this
Both regulators expect firms to be able to recognise when a client may be vulnerable or may lack capacity. The SRA’s guidance on meeting the needs of vulnerable people notes that the indicators are not always obvious, and that a solicitor may not have the information or experience to identify vulnerability alone. The Law Society’s practice note says firms should have the skills to identify a situation where someone may have impaired mental capacity, with duties under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Equality Act 2010.
Most training on this subject is delivered by lawyers. Ours is delivered by a clinical psychologist who assesses vulnerability and capacity for the courts, so the session is about what to notice in the room and what to do next, not about the regulations themselves.
What your team leaves with
Recognise the indicators
The signs of hidden mental health needs and vulnerability that are easy to miss in a client meeting, and the ones that matter most.
Know when to ask for an assessment
When a psychological or mental capacity assessment may change a case, and how to instruct one.
Bring your own cases
Time to put the situations your team is seeing to a psychologist and talk them through.
The session draws on the trauma-informed training Dr Suesse delivers to organisations working with people at risk of criminality or re-offending. Read about that work.
What barristers say about working with us
“I first instructed Mareike in a case where I represented a vulnerable pregnant woman facing a sentence of immediate custody for conveying drugs into prison. Her evidence was instrumental in securing a rare suspended sentence in that case. Since then, she has become my go-to […] psychologist for any case involving a vulnerable defendant. Her reports are always extremely thorough and have been indispensable in court on many occasions.”
Questions about the training
Who is the session for?
Solicitors, barristers, paralegals and support staff in any practice area where clients may be vulnerable: crime, family, private client, personal injury, immigration, housing and employment among them. It suits whole teams as well as smaller groups.
How long is it, and how is it run?
45 to 60 minutes, including time for questions. Most firms run it as a lunch and learn. We come to your offices or deliver it online.
Does it cost anything?
There are a limited number of places at no charge for legal professionals working in legal aid. The training can also be arranged as a more formal CPD package, which includes monitoring and evaluation, for £850 plus VAT, plus travel costs where applicable.
Can it count towards continuing competence?
Solicitors record their own learning under the SRA’s continuing competence requirements, and a session like this can be recorded as learning activity. We can provide a short outline of what was covered for your records.
Can it be tailored to our practice area?
Yes. Tell us the kind of work you do and the situations your team sees, and we shape the examples around them.
What happens if we think a client needs an assessment?
The session covers when a psychological or mental capacity assessment may help a case and how to ask for one. If you later need a report, see our expert witness work and mental capacity assessments.
Book a session for your firm
Tell us about your team and whether you work in legal aid, and we will check availability.