The semiotics of non-verbal communication in the attorney, client consultation process
In 2010, the Law Society of South Africa, expressed concern over the number of law graduates that were lacking in essential skills and they stressed that clients in legal matters are placed at risk if new practitioners are not properly equipped to assist them.1 Many lamented the academic nature of the LLB programmes at most tertiary institutions as concentrating only on the “knowledge of the law” rather than the enhancement of important skills and abilities. The “radical dichotomy” that exists between theory and practice in the law curricula at most tertiary law schools is at the root of the problem Whilst there is no denying that the ubiquity of doctrinal development is central to legal studies, law is no longer seen as a “technique of professional practice” only. Legal Realism has highlighted the fact that law permeates all facets of life and should therefore be studied as an embodiment of knowledge that permeates the “real” world. The focus of my study is on one key area of communication that has been largely ignored thus far in the legal arena, i.e. non-verbal communication. Effective communication is a fundamental dexterity to the attorney and a lack thereof can result in the likelihood of psychological and emotional long-term difficulties. My study furnishes some insight into the challenges facing most attorneys during the consultation process. The study outlines the importance and ubiquity of the different sign systems (semiotics) that regulate human interaction. The growing body of knowledge about non-verbal communication has illustrated that it is the main sign system that parallels verbal communication in the human interactive process. The aim of this study was to establish the attorneys’ perceptions of implementing non-verbal communication into their daily lives and the legal system in South Africa. A qualitative approach (where attorneys were interviewed) broadened my understanding of the attorneys’ experiences and I was allowed to be privy to their personal interpretations and perspectives on non-verbal communication in the legal arena. By recording and documenting their experiences, valuable insight was gained into their emotional and psychological responses to their legal experiences. The analysis of their experiences yielded unique and distinct themes to emerge, which was then formulated into a theoretical experience The attorneys were unanimous in their call for training in non-verbal communication. It was anticipated that this would serve as a means of alleviating some of the challenges facing them during the consultation process. Successful implementation would require attorneys to have a positive, flexible and creative approach to using non-verbal skills in consultations with clients. The study finds that legal realism combined with a semiotics methodology offers the law student an apposite approach to researching and analysing systems of meaning within the communicative legal framework. A framework that integrates realism, semiotics and non-verbal communication contains all the ingredients needed to improve the communicative legal skills of the attorney. The amalgamation of non-verbal communication skills with traditional legal skills would go a long way in removing the deep-seated dichotomy that still exists between theory and practice in the LLB curricula.
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