legal sanity

I’ve drawn parallels between the legal and medical professions before. I’m doing it again. This New York Times article discusses what doctors call the “hand on the doorknob” phenomenon – the tendency for patients to stifle important information until they’re halfway out the door of the doctor’s office. Considering the cause of this phenomenon, the writer – a doctor – opines that perhaps “the formality of the standard doctor-patient visit precludes revealing such personal, vulnerable details.” She goes on to state, “Maybe only when patients are fully dressed and standing upright, somewhat removed from the medical setting, if only by a few feet, do they regain enough humanity and strength to reveal such things.” I do think that the fast pace and sterility of the typical medical visit has a chilling effect on these kinds of “personal” patient revelations. But the problem also exists because many doctors fail to take the time to look beyond the physical form in front of them to address the thinking and feeling person behind. The same holds true for the many lawyers who assess their clients’ issues solely in terms of black letter rights and responsibilities. Overlooking or simply disregarding the large role that emotions, relationships, hopes and dreams can play in legal matters, they often misdiagnose the case and leave their clients wholly underserved.