The Holistic Practice of Law By Monica Bogucki, BSW, JD COPYRIGHT MONICA BOGUCKI 2016

What is the Holistic Practice of Law? Spotting multiple issues for clients Treating clients with great respect Short-term problem solving Long-term problem solving Multi-disciplinary referrals Being an extraordinary listener

Spotting multiple issues Spotting legal issues Spotting social service issues Spotting basic living needs issues

Crisis Oriented Thinking Clients living in poverty are often in crisis oriented thinking and problem solving It is important to problem solve the emergencies and short term problems, but crucial to also problem solve long term problems

Multi-disciplinary referrals Referrals to social service agencies Referrals to doctors, psychologists, social workers Referrals to emergency shelters; transitional housing, subsidized housing Referrals for evaluations, physical, mental health or chemical dependency

Developing a multidisciplinary professional network Develop professional relationships with doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, …… Become knowledgeable about social service referrals Emergency shelters for families Emergency shelters for individuals Specialized housing options………

Hypotheticals Brian, a 55 year old male with organic cognitive brain injury due to a car accident, applied for Social Security Disability but was recently denied. He can no longer afford his current living arrangement. He lives on general assistance of $203.00 per month, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)