Diagnóstico y determinación de las necesidades.

One of the most recurrent words in the focus group interviews with regard to the relationship between the lawyer and the young client is the word ‘trust’. Trust building appears to be a crucial factor in establishing a fruitful and satisfactory relationship between the juvenile and the lawyer. Juveniles show quite some scepticism toward lawyers and their role, an outcome mirrored in the fi ndings of previous US studies.106

Th e problem of having adequate trust in lawyers, particularly duty lawyers, is present in all national reports. Th is was highlighted by the juvenile girls interviewed in Poland, who were dissatisfi ed with ex offi cio appointed lawyers and at any rate showed little appreciation for lawyers in general. It is not easy for lawyers to win the confi dence of juveniles, yet there is no evidence in the extant research which suggests that juvenile suspects should be more wary of lawyers than adult suspects. Indeed the dynamics of building trust with young clients may be diff erent from adult suspects: they may have to depend more on showing empathy and developing appropriate communicative skills with juveniles rather than rely on their knowledge of the law and other traditional professional skills. Establishing trust requires adopting an appropriate child friendly approach, having patience, being willing to listen to what the young person has to say. All this, depending on the circumstances of the case, can take more time than when dealing with adults.107 _{Previous research has particularly emphasised the}

importance of lawyers having face-to-face contact with their client in order to help build trust.108 _{Th is is even more important when dealing with vulnerable}

suspects, particularly juveniles.

Given that lawyers are mindful of the importance of needing to explain everything to juvenile suspects and establishing a positive relationship with them, it appears that the diffi culty in trust-building mostly rests in the lack of adequate communication skills by the lawyers and in their ability to establish a suffi ciently close relationship with the juvenile.

5.3.1. Duty lawyers

A common trend across jurisdictions is that the lack of distrust particularly grows with regard to duty lawyers. Juveniles fear that the quality of duty lawyers is much lower than that of chosen lawyers and they also perceive duty lawyers to be less trustworthy. Th is belief is vividly mirrored in the bold expression of an English juvenile: “It’s like they are working for the police”. Lawyers also normally

106 _{Lawrence 1983–1984, p. 50 and Grisso 1981.} 107 _{See Malempati 2014, p. 659.}

108 _{On the importance of face-to-face contact with a lawyer at the police station contact for}

prefer to assist juveniles on the basis of a direct personal relationship, as this allows them to have better acquaintance with the juveniles and knowledge of their situation. As a Belgian lawyer said: “We should come to a situation where a juvenile, when arrested by the police, has the refl ex to call his lawyer”.

Enhancing trust between lawyers and clients appears a necessary precondition for improving the eff ectiveness of legal advice. Trust is also critical when lawyers provide advice to the juvenile which is meaningful during the interrogation. Th e importance of building trust with the young client requires a careful consideration of the elements which can help establish a closer relationship between the juvenile and their legal adviser.

First, as mentioned above, for lawyers to gain the trust of their client this can be improved by the quality of the lawyer themself. Second, trust can sometimes be encouraged by the role adopted by the AAs and social services as they can help mediate and facilitate the lawyer/client relationship particularly during the initial contact. Th is is not to suggest that the role of the AA and the lawyer can be intertwined. On the contrary, they are required to undertake diff erent roles in the interrogation. With the AA predominantly being responsible for the welfare of the juvenile while the lawyer is predominantly concerned with legal issues. Th e relationship the AA has with the juvenile, however, could assist them in gaining trust and confi dence in their lawyer, which then helps them when providing instructions and in developing a positive lawyer/client relationship.

Th ird, trust can also be enhanced by the existence of adequate safeguards and practical preconditions. Eff ective disclosure of evidence by the police is one such safeguard. As English lawyers mentioned, the advice they give to their client can depend on the extent to which the police are proposed to disclose what evidence (or at least some evidence) they have against them. Th e juveniles commented on the consultation with their lawyer being particularly helpful when they could give more information about the off ence and what was happening. With less information available lawyers have one less tool for winning the confi dence of their young clients. If the police do not provide adequate disclosure, then this can place the lawyer at a disadvantage when trying to establish a positive relationship with the young client.

Having adequate time for consultation is another factor which can improve trust-building between the young client and the lawyers (although, as we shall see, no particular concern was raised on this issue). When consultation takes place at police headquarters, the confi dentiality of consultation rooms is also a factor. Belgian lawyers lamented the absence in their regions of adequate rooms where they could have “a normal conversation”. In general, enhancing safeguards is a factor which could help the lawyers in gaining the trust and confi dence of juvenile clients, which then puts them in a better position to advise and guide the young client.