As is the case with many legal issues, clients seeking assistance with correcting their birth record are making themselves incredibly vulnerable. As attorneys we are obligated to meet them in that vulnerable place with compassion and respect. The process of correcting one’s birth record can be a first step in reclaiming one’s personal identity, one’s personhood. For others this process can be the final step in a long journey to build their lives on their own terms. Ultimately, there is no “right” or “wrong” time or reason to seek corrections to one’s birth record. It is not the role of the attorney to critique or opine on this choice. The role of the attorney is to inform, empower, and guide the client with as much protection and care as the client desires.
At the root of all of this is respect. Respect for clients and their choices, their feelings, their opinions, and their personhood. We ask our clients to be vulnerable in this process and we must be, too. We must tell clients when we are unfamiliar with terms or are struggling to understand. The purpose of this manual is to equip you with as much information as possible to minimize the need for your clients to do the work of educating their lawyer. The client is obliged to handle the emotional labor of exposing the profoundly personal in the public forum of the court; the least we can do is learn how to be an informed and respectful advocate.