Trauma-Informed Practice in Civil Claims
Trauma-informed practice isn’t one side’s job.
Follow one claim from first contact to resolution, through the eyes of everyone in the room. See how each choice affects whether the claimant can take part, communicate clearly and make sound decisions.
Unlimited access. Certificate on completion.
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This is for you if
- The matter settled. You’re still not sure the claimant understood what they agreed to.
- A client’s second account doesn’t match the first, and someone calls it a credibility problem before anyone asks why.
- You push for more detail and get less.
- Your careful position paper gets called “not trauma-informed”, and the mediation goes nowhere.
No one here is doing anything wrong. It’s trauma showing up in a legal process. Good intentions help, but they aren’t a method. This course gives you one, whichever side you’re on.
By the end you will be able to
- Recognise fight, flight, freeze and fawn responses in a meeting, on a call or in correspondence
- Use the “window of tolerance” to judge when someone can give reliable instructions
- Write position papers and correspondence that are firm while minimising retraumatisation
- Plan an apology that lands, and know what to do when new information comes up
- Read and adjust the pace of a negotiation, regardless of who you represent
Better instructions. More reliable evidence. Agreements that reflect what the claimant actually understood.
Four topics. One hour. One claim, start to finish.
You keep: a downloadable practice plan, a certificate of completion and unlimited access.
- Fully online
- Topics in any order
- Stop and return any time
- No intake dates
Topics
- Understanding trauma and behaviour
- Trauma-informed principles from evidence gathering to closing
- Trauma-informed negotiation: apologies, position papers and pacing
- Reflection and your personal practice plan
For everyone involved in managing sensitive claims
Claimant lawyers, respondent lawyers and claims officers. And the people who lead those teams, so how a claim is handled doesn’t depend on who picks up the file.
You might be thinking
- “Isn’t this really for claimant lawyers?”
- No. Every scenario is shown from each role: claimant lawyer, respondent lawyer and claims officer.
- “I act for the insurer. Isn’t this at odds with my role?”
- No. You can hold a firm position. The course shows how to state it while minimising the potential for retraumatisation. Royal Commission guidelines now expect institutions and their insurers to be trauma-aware too.
- “We don’t have time to slow everything down.”
- It’s about pacing, not slowing. The aim is for claims to keep moving towards resolution rather than stalling at the first hard moment.
How it works
- Pay online, takes a minute
- We email your access link
- Work through it at your own pace and download your certificate
About Julie
Built from what happens in law offices and mediation rooms every week
Julie Somerville is the Principal Mediator at R3 Resolutions. After 25 years as a civil litigator, she has mediated over 1,200 sensitive claims, and now mediates approximately 200 a year, including institutional child abuse, medical negligence and serious injury claims. This course started as the workshop she runs for lawyers and claims professionals. It isn’t therapy. It’s practical process design from someone who does this work every day.
- Australian Dispute Centre’s 2022 Mediator of the Year
- Doyle’s Guide Leading Mediator NSW, 2020 to 2026
- AMDRAS and Law Society of NSW accredited mediator
- Law Society of Scotland Certification in Trauma-Informed Law
What people say
Thank you Julie for your hard work and dedication to mediating a complex and highly sensitive matter. I believe your approach was exactly what was required to enable the parties to reach the outcome we did.
I was very impressed with Julie’s engagement with the clients and the process and her efforts to achieve a settlement when it appeared at times that this was out of reach.
Julie has also played an important role in providing comprehensive presentations and workshops training… on implementing trauma informed principles to the mediation of historical child abuse claims in the manner recommended by the Royal Commission.
Enrol
Trauma-Informed Practice in Civil Claims
$99 + GST
Four topics, personal practice plan, certificate of completion, unlimited access.
Enrol nowFrequently purchased together
The claimant isn’t the only one affected
Vicarious Trauma and Compassion Fatigue covers what reading this material, day after day, does to the people handling the file. Two hours, $129 + GST.
Questions
How long does it take?
About one hour. Do the four topics in any order; finishing all four unlocks your certificate.
Does it count for CPD?
If this course extends your knowledge and skills in areas relevant to your practice needs or professional development, you may be able to claim one CPD unit.
Is it legal strategy training?
No. It’s about process: how people who have experienced trauma take part, instruct and decide. It’s not a script for “managing difficult claimants”.
Can my employer pay?
Yes. Organisational licences are available.
Better process. Better outcomes. Regardless of who you act for.
One hour to change how a claim runs, from first contact to resolution.
Enrol now, $99 + GST