THE LEGAL ASSISTANTS WAR ON CRIME

Matthew L. Ferrara

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

I believe the future success of the legal assistant profession in general, and criminal law legal assistants in particular, hinges upon the development of a network of experienced professionals who can help each other and advance the professionalism of the field. This "mentorship model" would have a vertical and a horizontal structure. The vertical structure could be conceived of as a career path with novice legal assistants entering the field at the bottom and working their way up as they gain experience and knowledge. The horizontal structure refers to the presence of peers in the field who serve as sounding boards or provide support.

Right now there is a lack of veteran criminal law legal assistants who can serve as role models in the field. For those of you who are experienced in the field, think back on what it would have been like to have experienced legal assistants to show you the ropes. Of course, this would also enhance the quality of work and enable the profession to build some momentum and gain the recognition it so richly deserves.

The mentorship model also assumes there would be a horizontal structure. Legal assistants at all levels would have peers with whom they could share trade secrets, commiserate about some of the intrinsic ills of the job, or share the important successes.

The criminal law field is characterized by much turn-over and a lack of identity. With some organization and planning, a group of legal assistants can have an impact on many aspects of their jobs and on the legal system in general. To attain the goal of a mentorship model for legal assistants, there are three issues that must be addressed: philosophy, cross-training, and innovation.

PHILOSOPHY

To be a mentor, a legal assistant must not only have experience but has to be able to learn from that experience. It is also important to be able to communicate specific skills. Yet, that is not what is most important. A mentor must be able to communicate a philosophy. The job of the mentor is to teach the novice legal assistant to fend for him/herself.

There are two fundamental questions that must be answered before the criminal law legal assistant can formulate his or her philosophy. They are:

What is the difference between the crime and the criminal? and
What is an effective response to crime?

Crime v. Criminal -

A crime is an act; a criminal is a person. The implication of this obvious distinction is that everyone charged with a criminal offense is alleged to have engaged in crime. However, not everyone who commits a crime (or breaks the law) is necessarily a criminal.

I would like to suggest a definition for criminal: a criminal is a person who meets his or her needs by exploiting others and depriving others of the ability to meet their needs. Recall that we are talking about mentor legal assistants having a philosophy. This definition can be used to formulate a philosophy. If the legal assistant works for the prosecution, he/she may urge or encourage stiff punishment if the person is a criminal, but may urge a lesser punishment of the person is guilty but not a criminal. The legal assistant working for the defense attorney can also use this definition. If a defendant is convicted of a crime but does not appear to be a criminal, he/she can discuss the difference between crime and the criminal, thereby helping the individual maintain some dignity and self-esteem.

The proper response to crime -

Criminologists tell us there are four possible responses to crime: incapacitation, rehabilitation, deterrence and punishment. Researchers tell us that only two of these four are effective.

Incapacitation. The research is clear. Incapacitation does not reduce the crime rate. The US has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Does it have the lowest crime rate? Not by a long shot. When a criminal is incapacitated, it leaves a void in the criminal subculture. When a void exists, another criminal comes in to fill it.

Rehabilitation. The goal of rehabilitation is to reduce recidivism by use of psychological principles and techniques. Common interventions used include substance abuse treatment, assertiveness training and sex offender treatment. The research is also very clear here: it is effective. It should be noted that rehabilitation is often criticized for being soft on criminals. The actual rehabilitation is difficult. It is costly. And if it is soft on anyone, it is soft on the hundreds of thousands of persons who never get victimized by the criminals who successfully complete rehabilitation treatment.

Deterrence. Research also has shown that deterrence does not work. The availability or lack of harsh punishment (such as the death penalty) has not affected the crime rate over the years. In general, harsh punishment appears to be similar to a lock a person might put on a gate. The lock will keep honest people honest but it will not deter the criminal.

Punishment. The goal of the punishment approach is to punish the criminal in a manner that would equal the pain and suffering of the victim. Research has shown that punishment does not reduce recidivism nor does it reduce the crime rate. It does serve an important function, however. It allows the victim to be repaid in terms of suffering and hardship. The punishment approach has recently given rise to some innovative programs such as restitution and offender-victim mediation. Overall, the punishment approach seems to work because it does not try to change or impact the perpetrator. Rather it attempts to meet the needs of the victim.

This information about the effective approaches to crime can be used by the legal assistant to develop an overall philosophy which can be in turn passed along in the mentoring process. Having a personal philosophy is a key requirement to being a mentor. Your personal philosophy says a great deal about who you are. Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying.

CROSS-TRAINING

Criminal law legal assistants can work either for the prosecution or for the defense. In order to change jobs, a criminal law legal assistant would have to work for the other side. This is not true for legal assistants in other fields. The legal system is based upon an adversarial approach. This adversarial approach is most evident in the criminal realm.

To be an effective mentor, the legal assistant should have a good understanding of both sides of the adversarial struggle. The way to this understanding is to have training on both sides. It may be unrealistic to think that a legal assistant would change jobs to do this, but cross-training is an alternative method of gaining that valuable knowledge. There are many advantages to cross-training:

Cross-training will improve your job performance. You know how the other side thinks and what is important.
Cross-training will facilitate your understanding of the big picture.
Cross-training may reduce your frustration level. You may begin to understand why the other side does the things they do.
Cross-training may give you new ideas about how to improve your job.
Cross-training may open career advancement opportunities.

The Indians had a saying that you don't know how another man feels until you walk a mile in his moccasins. Cross-training may not be walking a mile in another man's shoes, but it is about as close as a legal assistant can get without actually switching sides. It is important to understand how the other side operates. It brings solidarity to the field and unity to the profession.

INNOVATION

Creativity is the development of something both useful and novel. Let's focus on the useful component of creativity. The most useful innovations are those which take a specific activity or event the next step. It is not the "giant step for mankind" which is most often creative; it is usually the "first step on the trip of a thousand miles."

There are opportunities to be creative in the day to day work world of the legal assistant. You may feel a twinge of fear at the notion that you could be creative, but this is natural. Like many others you may be focusing on the wrong part of the definition; you may be focusing on the "novel" aspect and avoiding the useful aspect.

The innovation that I think is important for your profession is not necessarily the innovation which could occur in your specific office. I would not want to belittle innovation on that level, but I would like to encourage innovation that would change the profession.

The challenge to be creative and innovative exists for each of us. I would like to offer what I would call A Baker's Dozen of Recommendations for the Future Field of Legal Assistants. I am focusing on the big picture. These recommendations may not help you in your individual offices but they might help you further the profession. Please consider the following:

Read the biography of a famous inventor.
Attend a minimum of continuing education classes each year.
Read some of the scientific literature pertaining to the rehabilitation of criminals. In particular, the works of Paul Gendreau and Robert Ross would be instructive.
Learn a new physical skill. Take what you feel about learning a new physical skill and apply it to how uncomfortable you will feel as you learn and grow in your profession.
Follow-up on at least five criminal defendants you have worked with who have been placed on probation. Find out about the person's adjustment while on probation. Talk to the person - find out about their quality of life.
Take a tour of the local jail and/or prison.
Join the professional organization which represents your discipline.
Use more experts in your work. Benefit from the perspective and point of view that is offered by other disciplines.
Try working for the other side.
Be a mentor. Develop your own philosophy about the criminal-legal system.
Do a self analysis. Discover your strengths and weaknesses. Develop a plan to remediate your weaknesses.
Develop your spirituality. The law is the secular version of morality. Try to develop your own personal morality.
Never, ever quit trying to better yourself.

The development of the legal assistant profession is done by persons. Persons like yourself. Innovation and change does not just occur. Do not be one of those persons who merely ages with each passing year. Be the type of person who grows more mature and wiser with each passing year. Learn as you go. Share your knowledge and experience with others. Be a mentor. Help your profession grow.

Matthew L. Ferrara, Ph.D. holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Oklahoma State University. He is a clinical and forensic psychologist in private practice in Austin, working exclusively with forensic clients, offering assessment, treatment, program evaluation and program development.