Page 10 - Juvenile Practice is not Child's Play

and go somewhere private to discuss the situation with your client. To build rapport with the client, counsel should

make use of any available personalizing touches. For example, in addition to asking the client’s name, counsel
should ask the client’s nickname and, having learned the nickname, ask the client whether s/he would prefer
counsel’s using the nickname or the client’s given name. Offering to do concrete things for the client (for example,

if the client is in detention, offering to contact the client’s family) is a more credible demonstration of counsel’s
willingness to work for the client than general self-touting professions of industriousness in the future. If the client
evidences particular concern over the police officers’ seizure of the respondent’s cash or other personal property,
17
counsel should promise to look into the situation and do whatever can be done to retrieve the property.

9. Be zealous in your representation: You have an ethical obligation to zealously represent your client, which
includes thoroughly investigating the offense and any special circumstances. Sometimes it includes representing
the child’s legal interests even if it conflicts with what others think is the child’s best interests. If necessary, a
18
guardian ad litem can be appointed to represent the child’s best interests. Counsel should avoid displaying any
indication that the client is making a bad impression or is at fault for failing to answer counsel’s questions relevantly.
Conversely, counsel wants to convey the sense that the client is doing well and is giving counsel helpful information.
The client usually enters upon this meeting with certain preconceptions about lawyers that are far from favorable.

These include the notions that lawyers are self-interested, uncaring, grasping, and untrustworthy. If the client is
street-wise, s/he is also likely to hold the more specific belief that criminal defense lawyers only want to talk their
clients into pleading guilty to save themselves the trouble of trying cases. Counsel should attempt to rectify, or at
least alleviate, these preconceptions by showing genuine concern for the client as an individual human being – not

just another faceless client in a parade of stereotyped clients – and by showing a willingness to work on the client’s
19
behalf.

10. Be optimistic, patient, and perseverant: You should never believe that your client is a “hopeless child” or an

“inherently bad kid,” regardless of the gravity of their offense and/or youth record. Children can grow into positive-
minded, productive, and law-abiding adults. Be patient with your client even if they have a negative attitude. You
should persevere and try to understand him or her. Don’t give up on your client. A big part of their future depends

on you.

17 Randy Hertz, Martin Guggenheim, & Anthony G. Amsterdam, The Client Interview. NJDC Trial Manual for Def. Att’y in Juv. Delinq.
Cases 5, 125 (2019), https://njdc.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/Chap-5-Client-Interview-2019-edition.pdf.
18 It is allowable for the attorney also to serve as guardian ad litem however, this can lead to conflicts of interest and is unadvisable as it
can also lead to confusion for the child client.
19 Id. at 124.