AbstractThe cultural context for the Armenian person is the result of the support and defense of a lifestyle and values that have been maintained for centuries, perhaps two thousand years. For this reason, although Armenians living in the United States today come from a variety of countries of origin and may to some extent speak different dialects or even different languages, they nevertheless have many cultural similarities due to centuries of commonality. The cultural similarities between Armenians can be seen mainly in three different areas: spirituality, historicity and family. Spirituality refers to the perspective of what is valuable in life and what must be supported and defended in all circumstances. regardless of the social environment and surrounding conditions. Historicity refers to what has been traditionally done, the "Armenian way of life", both what is important and perhaps not so important. While spirituality may refer more to the “content,” the important values of life, historicity refers more to the living “process,” the way in which the important values of life are achieved. The family, on the other hand, is the daily living environment within which spirituality and historicity are applied and experienced. The term “family” in the Armenian community does not only refer to the family of origin or the nuclear family. Instead, it includes both along with the entire extended family and even the small surrounding community. These family ties are much more important and influential in decision making than it would initially appear, so they need to be recognized and understood. While not all Armenians uphold the same spirituality, historicity, and family values, they would still approach life decisions based on these cultural categories. Armenians living in the United States, especially those living in large communities, tend to discover opposing tendencies between the culture in which they grew up and those of the dominant culture in which they must live, work, interface, and survive. Working at the Berjikian Law FirmVicken Berjikian founded the Berjikian Law Firm in 1983, as a criminal defense and personal injury practice. Over the past 17 years the Berjikian law firm has grown to become established and well known in the Armenian community. The...... middle of paper......h goes out and helps people and families. All this leads to increasingly better quality, as well as more timely services to customers and a sense of satisfaction for both the customer and the professional. The relationship between the Armenian client and the legal professional is complex. It is full of issues that go beyond legal advice or filing a lawsuit on their behalf, but includes issues related to a person's cultural context. Typically, in fact, the actual legal issues sometimes become secondary, or at least not as central to the person's priorities. At the outset, such a relationship can cause great frustration and wasted time as the legal professional attempts to provide the appropriate service. Ultimately, these miscommunications can cause delays in providing professional service and result in additional, unnecessary legal fees. The correct understanding of the client's cultural situation by the legal professional can lead to a greater quality of service and a reduction in costs. As difficult and complicated as this situation may seem, it is still not impossible. In fact, the most experienced professionals learn over the years to relate to Armenian culture.
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