Specialty Areas: Implicit Bias
Practice Areas: Access to Justice, Diversity and Inclusion, Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias, Equity in Justice (NM), Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI), Equity, Inclusion and Mitigation of Implicit and Explicit Bias (WA), Ethics, Implicit Bias, Professional Conduct, Professionalism
Original Production Date: 02/11/2026
Run Time: 1:00:00
CA Course Exp: 02/11/2031
Implicit bias continues to influence decision-making throughout the legal process, often shaping how risk, credibility, accountability, and rehabilitation potential are evaluated. When courts rely primarily on limited case summaries, static historical data, or algorithmic risk assessments, critical aspects of a client’s life history and personal development may remain invisible, increasing the likelihood that unconscious assumptions fill informational gaps. These narrative gaps can unintentionally reinforce disparities in charging, program placement, plea negotiations, and sentencing outcomes.
This program examines how implicit bias operates within legal advocacy and demonstrates how evidence-based narrative strategies can help attorneys construct fuller, more accurate representations of their clients. Drawing on research from psychology, criminology and legal decision-making, this CLE explores how incomplete information triggers cognitive shortcuts and how contextual storytelling — supported by investigative interviews, social history development, and strategic video advocacy — can interrupt those processes.
Participants will learn to distinguish between static and dynamic risk factors and understand how overreliance on static historical indicators can perpetuate inequities in risk assessments and correctional program placements. The program further introduces practical methods for identifying growth indicators, rehabilitation evidence, and contextual life-history information that provide courts with individualized, evidence-based perspectives. Through case studies and applied advocacy techniques, the course illustrates how narrative construction can humanize clients, enhance judicial understanding, and support more accurate and equitable legal outcomes.
By combining empirical data with structured storytelling approaches, this course equips attorneys with practical tools to strengthen mitigation advocacy, improve sentencing presentations, and advance fairness in legal decision-making while maintaining accountability and professional responsibility.
The speakers include: Rebecca Grace, Professor Matthew Claire, PhD., Hon. Judge Mark W. Bennett, Prof. Leticia Saucedo, Shawn Marsh, PhD., Omkari Williams and Shari Rusk.
offered in:
California | Pennsylvania