The word “bully” conjures up many images. There’s the playground bully. The teen bully. The workplace bully. And in the new millennium, there’s the cyberbully. But what about the lawyer bully?

 

Litigation by nature is adversarial. But the lawyer bully is one who preys on younger or less experienced lawyers. The lawyer bully yells. Interrupts. Belittles. Harasses. The lawyer bully often strikes during depositions or communications when no judge is present to put the bully in her place. But fear not. With a little preparation, the following tips should help any lawyer conquer the lawyer bully.

 

Keep Your Cool
First and foremost, don’t sink to the bully’s level. Don’t lose your temper or respond in kind. The best line of defense is to be calm and take the high road. If the bully has an outburst or interrupts you during a deposition or conversation (a common bullying tactic), let him finish, even if he’s yelling. Then say, “Please don’t interrupt me” or “I’m not going to continue this discussion if you’re going to act like this.” For me, as a younger lawyer, one of my personal favorites was to ask the yelling bully: “Why are you yelling?” There are few acceptable answers to that question, and if you’re in a deposition, you’ve just made a record that the bully is yelling. It is also OK to calmly tell the bully that he’s being unreasonable and to point out inappropriate behavior. Don’t do what I’ve seen other young lawyers do, saying “OK, I’ll move on.”

 

What about written communications? If you’re responding to a nasty letter, kill ’em with kindness. For example, instead of “Dear Mr. Smith, you’re an unprofessional jerk,” write “Dear Mr. Smith, thank you for your recent letter. . . .”). The rule of thumb is to keep your communications simple and professional.

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