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Trauma-informed lawyering is an approach to legal practice that recognises that many people who interact with legal systems have experienced trauma, and that these experiences can shape how they communicate, make decisions and engage with legal processes. Rather than focusing only on the legal problem, trauma-informed lawyering asks lawyers to consider what may have happened to a client and how that experience might affect their interaction with the law. It involves adapting legal practice to promote safety, trust, clear communication and meaningful participation in legal processes.

In practice, trauma-informed lawyering emphasises respectful relationships between lawyers and clients. Lawyers seek to create environments where clients feel psychologically safe, understand the legal process, and have genuine choice and control over decisions affecting their case. This may involve explaining legal procedures clearly, avoiding practices that may retraumatise clients, supporting clients to tell their story in their own way, and recognising how trauma can affect memory, communication and behaviour.

Many people who rely on legal assistance services have experienced violence, discrimination, poverty or other forms of adversity. These experiences can make legal processes confusing, intimidating or distressing, which may prevent people from seeking help or participating effectively in their own cases. By responding to these realities, trauma-informed approaches can improve communication, strengthen trust between lawyers and clients, and support people to engage more confidently with the legal system.

Trauma-informed approached also aim to reduce the risk that legal processes themselves cause further harm. Traditional legal procedures can unintentionally retraumatise people, particularly when they are required to repeatedly recount distressing events or navigate unfamiliar and adversarial settings. Trauma-informed lawyering seeks to minimise these risks while maintaining strong legal advocacy, helping legal services deliver fairer and more accessible justice.

Despite growing interest, the evidence base for trauma-informed lawyering is still developing. Much of the existing literature identifies strong theoretical reasons to adopt trauma-informed approaches, but there remains a need for empirical research evaluating how these practices affect client experiences, legal outcomes and workforce wellbeing. STILS aims to address this gap by testing and evaluating trauma-informed practices within real legal service settings.

This is the first in a series of ongoing updates regarding the progress and development of the STILS project.

STILS officially commenced implementation in late 2025 and continues to make significant progress.

The STILS team has assembled our Advisory Group that will provide lived-experience expertise and direction for the project. This group is to be chaired by Lived Experience Lead Bowzer Scharka.

Pre-implementation focus groups and interviews were completed through October 2025 at all Phase A sites (Melbourne migration team, Wollongong family law team and Alice Springs criminal law team).

This was followed by the delivery of an initial trauma-informed lawyering training from With You, as a part of National Legal Aid. You can read more about the work of With You here.

Follow-up mid-implementation focus groups and interviews have subsequently been conducted at all Phase A sites, with the project now moving towards qualitative data gathering from legal aid clients as well as end-implementation stage focus groups and interviews.

All Phase A teams have also benefitted from toolkit items specific to the needs of respective teams, such as specific and additional trainings, targeted brokerage, resource development support, and enhancement to physical office spaces, amongst others.

STILS has initiated engagement with all Phase B sites, with pre-implementation data gathering and delivery of the With You training to occur from April 2026.