Background on FTT’s Trauma Informed Lawyering

When Free to Thrive launched in 2017, it was the first and only legal services provider exclusively serving human trafficking survivors in San Diego and one of only a handful of such providers around the United States. One of the most critical components of our work is serving our clients in a trauma-informed manner. Unfortunately, the literature on trauma-informed lawyering is sparse and there are few, if any, law schools with offerings on the subject. The concept of “trauma-informed practices'' is much more established in the mental health and social services spaces than in the legal profession.

The reality is that the vast majority of attorneys work with victims of trauma and yet, very few have ever received any training on what it means to be “trauma-informed” and how to incorporate trauma-informed practices into representing your clients. That is why Free to Thrive’s staff attorneys and legal interns created FTT’s practice guide on “Trauma-Informed Legal Representation of Human Trafficking Survivors.” The goal of this practice guide is to educate law students and attorneys about trauma-informed lawyering and how to apply this concept to working with human trafficking survivors. While the primary audience for this practice guide is attorneys and law students, anyone working with trauma-survivors would benefit from this practice guide.