You operate in high-pressure environments. When combined with emotionally charged proceedings or clients with challenging personal histories, it can push you and your clients into heightened states of anxiety and distress.
This training addresses the effects of trauma and distress in all practice areas, and how to respond effectively.
Delivered by two former barristers and trauma specialists Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, this training combines lived legal experience with cutting-edge knowledge from neuroscience and trauma practice.
Please note: this training takes place over two sessions on 21 January and 3 February and you must be available to attend both sessions.
About the course
This interactive training session empowers you to navigate human responses with increased awareness and skill. Trauma-informed practice is increasingly being recognised as a core competency that strengthens:
- Legal strategy, judgment and decision-making
- Witness handling and interviewing
- Leadership, culture and team dynamics
- Resilience and retention
- Psychological and physiological safety and wellbeing
Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, our training will provide valuable insights, language and practical tools to support both your wellbeing and your professional practice.
Looking for Trauma-informed practice training for clerks and chambers staff?
Why attend?
- Protect your wellbeing: Learn how to identify and manage the impact of vicarious trauma, stress and burnout
- Strengthen the integrity of evidence and outcomes: Understand how trauma impacts memory, attention and communication, including how small changes in approach can safeguard best evidence and strengthen the integrity of proceedings
- Enhance client care: Understand how trauma and distress can shape communication, memory, and behaviour, so you can respond with skill and empathy
- Future-proof your practice: Trauma-informed approaches are increasingly being recognised as a core competency across the legal sector
What the course covers
Session one – Wednesday 21 January:
Navigating self-care and vicarious trauma
- Spotting the signs (including the less obvious ones) of distress and trauma in yourself and others, including real life examples
- Introducing the neuroscience behind effective self-care and support for others in relation to overwhelm and trauma (including vicarious trauma)
- Strategies to resource yourself before, during and after difficult interactions
- Knowing when and how to signpost for additional support
Trauma-informed communication and client care
- Exploring the foundations of trauma-informed practice, including understanding how trauma can affect memory, behaviour and communication
- Building your confidence in trauma-informed communication skills to provide effective support in the moment
- Learning how to respond when clients are distressed, anxious or struggling to engage, while maintaining professional clarity and boundaries
- Strengthening client relationships by recognising how trauma and distress show up in the dynamics of proceedings
Session two – Tuesday 3 February:
Trauma-informed witness handling and best evidence
- Understanding how trauma shapes recall, concentration and evidence
- Developing practical approaches to interviewing and witness handling that support best evidence
- Applying trauma-informed strategies to reduce re-traumatisation risks and strengthen the integrity of outcomes
Format
- Online
- Group size: Limited to 25 participants to ensure meaningful discussion, interaction and tailored support
Who is it suitable for?
- Barristers
- All practice areas
- All years of call
Price
Registration is for both Wednesday 21 January (9am to 1pm) and Tuesday 3 February (5pm to 7pm).
Standard: £470 (plus VAT)
Bar Representation Fee subscribers (20% off): £376 (plus VAT)
Book
Before you book
Please read our terms and conditions and privacy statement before booking.
All Bar Council online training is held on the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Please ensure you read our Zoom statement before booking.
Due to changes in VAT regulations effective from 1 January 2025, we will no longer be offering online events to attendees based outside of the United Kingdom (UK). As a result, this event is only available to individuals and organisations that are based within the UK. By booking this online event you are confirming that you are based within the UK.
About Trauma Informed Law
Trauma Informed Law was founded by barristers Rebecca Norris and Camilla Wells, who together bring over 35 years of legal practice and more than 20 years of specialist experience in trauma and distress.
Their legal backgrounds span family, crime (including white collar), commercial, contentious regulatory and financial services litigation, giving them a deep understanding of the different pressures clerks and barristers face across practice areas.
Alongside them, their multidisciplinary team brings expertise in neuroscience, psychotherapy, somatic psychology and trauma-specialist coaching.
Rebecca and Camilla have worked with leading chambers, law firms, professional bodies and regulators to embed trauma-informed practice across the sector – combining lived legal experience with evidence-based tools designed for the realities of practice.
“Camilla and Rebecca are obviously expert in their subject and communicate the science and concepts in a clear and interesting way. But what sets them apart is their extensive legal experience. They know, at first hand, the difficulties that…trauma can pose to barristers, both personally and in their practice. This allows them to connect directly with, and gain the trust of, the barristers at their sessions so that they feel able to engage in the training in a full and open way.”
– 12 King’s Bench Walk Chambers
Book your place for both sessions