I sat listening intently to my constitutional law professor, engrossed in the lecture-induced dawning realization that the word “equality” did not in fact appear anywhere in the U.S. Constitution. My body leaned forward, as I unconsciously shook my head in agreement with my professor’s assessment that this celebrated document was flawed in many ways that continue to mar society today. Catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, my professor looked at me inquisitively and asked which part I disagreed with. Startled, I replied with fervor that I wholeheartedly agreed with him. Then I realized that I had been shaking my head from side to side instead of up and down, as I had often seen my Indian father do when he approved of an idea and wanted to express his support. Subtle body movements, vocal sounds and unconscious gestures, informed and molded by cultural norms, have entirely different significance based on the cultural lens through which they are observed. An incorrect reading could very quickly escalate to misunderstanding, offense, or a missed opportunity to create a connection. Nowhere is this truer than in the legal profession.

Culture is both the stark and subtle elements that form the identity of a group of people. The common elements that we can identify across cultures like cuisine, attire and language are accessible markers that allow us to create a broad-stroke sketch in our mind. We are able to hold up that sketch and compare and contrast it to the collection of artwork that we have accumulated through our life experiences. But we tend to accept the methods that we have seen before and treat different techniques with suspicion, discomfort or intrigue. The reason that each of these reactions, including intrigue, is disabling is because it creates a separation. If as a legal community we are able to observe and take in without judgment and without assigning an internal ranking to different cultural values, we are better equipped to creating a culturally competent workforce. Cultural competency, in my view, is desirable to ensure that one is in a position to fully understand the needs of another.

I have found that intentional study and contextualization are useful to understand the finer details of culture. From what I have learned so far about the legal profession, such an exercise will provide insight into motivations, hesitations and concepts of success: for example, to that individual, based on culture, is mediation valued over confrontation? Does that individual prefer maintaining that relationship over making profit? Does that individual expect a participatory or traditional legal relationship? Such an insight not only enables lawyers to provide more effective representation, but it also highlights the legal profession’s unique opportunity to shape societal dialogue about the indelible role of culture and the necessity of cross-cultural understanding. The crafting of this cultural competence begins in the legal classroom by understanding how culture might affect our academic colleagues and friends.

“Cultural competence within the legal profession requires an awareness of where you are coming from and where you are currently.”

Law students and professors ought to be made aware that culture can empower or restrict. If one culture promotes being straightforward and vocal, while another promotes being reserved and introspective, then the latter may get overlooked in a setting such as a legal classroom. Students who come from a culture that values directness and being vocal may be better equipped to ask and answer questions, pursue relationships with professors and promote themselves in a profession that requires visibility and connections. Students from a culture that values reservation may hesitate to offer answers without a thorough period of introspection that is incongruent with the often rapid pace of the Socratic method. They may have difficulty immediately being able to call a professor by his or her first name because culturally it is disrespectful to call an elder by his or her name without a title. These students may be disenfranchised in a culture that considers being on a “first-name basis” an indication of the intimacy and closeness of a relationship.

I have seen it most clearly when it comes to asking for help. While many of my peers may approach a professor immediately when they have a question or utilize office hours liberally, I often feel compelled to grapple with any question that I have for some time and only approach the professor as a last resort. It may be easy to attribute such actions to having a specific personality, but even as an extroverted individual, I am accustomed to speaking when I have come to a conclusion, not in the middle of a thought process. In my Indian culture there are unwritten rules about the order of who speaks, interjections and interruptions, and what can and cannot be expressed in which way based on who is in the room. Through my travel and study abroad, I realized that in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, these rules were as nuanced and varied as possible. How I attempted to be an effective communicator in each of these contexts was to observe, intake, contemplate, internalize and emulate. Even if I made a faux pas, the community realized the effort that I had taken and rather than get offended would be even more generous in their guidance and accessibility. The understanding gained in the legal classroom of how culture functions as an unseen hand shaping motivations, hesitations and concepts of success can then be amplified to all the individuals who we encounter in practice.

There are so many layers to each person. To name a few, we all belong to a generation, socioeconomic class, race, sexual orientation, ability and disability, language, gender, and discipline or work role. Cultural competence within the legal profession requires an awareness of where you are coming from and where you are currently. It requires a similar evaluation of the individuals who you are interacting with. It requires introspection and observation, resolve and flexibility. But the most important part of an incremental process is not the future result; it’s the next step. Therefore each of us can drive this movement forward.

This blog post originally appeared on The Legal Intelligencer.