Law firms. The Doctor Is In
| Author | Lyle Moran |
| Pages | 22-24 |
LAW FIRMS
The Doctor Is In
A New York City firm has taken the unusual step
of hiring a psychologist to assist clients and lawyers
BY LYLE MORAN
As Harris St. Laurent &
Wechsler attorneys read-
ied for an arbitration of a
partnership dispute involving
two co-founders of an alternative asset
management fund, they exchanged
documents with the other side and also
fought some discovery battles. Typical
for any dispute.
But when the New York City-based
rm’s lawyers turned their attention to
witness preparation in late 2020, it im-
mediately became clear that their client
came across as very robotic and uncon-
vincing under questioning.
Yonaton Aronoff, a Harris St.
Laurent & Wechsler partner, says this
realization prompted the rm to play
the ace up its sleeve: Monica Delgado,
a doctor of psychology it had hired just
months prior to work with clients at
critical stages of their cases.
Delgado helped the fund co-founder
process the range of emotions he was
feeling about the key events in question
and comfortably convey those feelings
when facing inquiries, Aronoff says.
“It made him feel ready and unafraid
to testify,” he says. Aronoff also credits
what he calls “testifying therapy” with
giving the rm’s client the condence to
hold the line in settlement discussions
and ultimately secure a “very favorable
settlement” ahead of the arbitration.
Overall, he points to the case as one
example of how Delgado’s interactions
with clients about the psychological side
of their legal matters has beneted both
them and the litigation-focused rm.
“If clients are able to nd their
emotional center, they testify in a more
credible way and a more human way,
which we nd to be very valuable and
persuasive to fact-nders,” Aronoff says.
“We benet from that process as well
by understanding our clients’ emotional
truth so that we can ask better questions
and help shape their testimony.”
It is not uncommon for law rms to
contract with jury consultants and other
professionals knowledgeable about liti-
gation to assess how witnesses are being
perceived and how they may want to
present themselves. But Harris St. Lau-
rent & Wechsler leaders call the decision
to hire a psychologist as a member of
the rm’s staff a unique initiative.
Jonathan Harris, the rm’s founder
and managing partner, says he decided
to bring Delgado on board so his team
could offer a more holistic approach to
serving clients going through some of
Business of Law edited by
VICTOR LI
victor.li@americanbar.org
Photo illustration by Sara Wadford/Shuterstock
ABA JOURNAL | FEBRUARY–MARCH 2022
22
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