Lawyer Bullying Tactics: Why Do 90% Of Lawyers Give The Rest A Bad Name?

Not ALL lawyers are bullies. But it’s a pity that it seems like 90% of them give the rest a bad name. Research says that the number in the U.S. is 78%- still a disturbingly poor show by people calling themselves professionals. But in But the title of a book by Steven Wright is:

“99% of lawyers give the rest

a bad name.”

As this article emanates from our own limited experience, 90% is the number used throughout, but we accept that this could be higher or lower than others experience, and will vary in different countries.

Horror stories abound of lawyers who destroyed lives or caused people the kind of pain that qualifies as trauma, yet the group continues regardless with traditions that no longer serve the modern world, adding an especially cruel element as they match with modern tendencies to bully as is seen in the massive rise of trolling on the internet. It's possible that the traditions appealed to them, making law an attractive career choice.

But traditions of the past are often skewed. The ethos of the old-school tradition of professions is demonstrated in this old video, from the classic British movie, Goodbye Mr Chips. It's the kind of ethos found in the giants who practice law with integrity and honour:

But it may be a pipe dream to think that all lawyers set out in their careers to be brave and strong and true, although it may be so. Perhaps the giant ego's take over and blind them later, or in some cases, it was always lurking.

Hopefully, most set out after being inspired by the giants, and sought to to fill the world with love. Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place if the message in the video was absorbed by all lawyers, and applied all the time, to the extent that justice is served?

Because to love, you do need to be brave and strong and true. And be willing and able to set your ego aside. Yet it’s seen as a weakness, a concept that has no place in the justice system.

What Is Justice?

Philosophers, thinkers, and lawyers postulate on what justice is, coming up with complex definitions that all boil down to the same thing: Fairness, ethics, treating others with respect and being treated with respect, and the inalienable, inborn right to be treated like a decent human being. Treating people with love and kindness, as the British boys in the video sought to do.

But it's a double-edged sword. The right to justice demands the duty to uphold the same principles in your own life. It's hypocritical to put a sign up in your office announcing to the world that you are a lawyer, implying that you are committed to justice when in reality, dirty tricks are your pride and joy, bullying and lies your preferred tools of the trade. Justice is an all-or-nothing concept, reaping its rewards without contributing to justice defeats the entire object.

Lawyers are people, hard though it may be to remember that sometimes. Not much different from the other 8 billion or so other complex, fragile members of the human race, with our complicated lives, carrying the joys and hurts that make up life. They too have suffered injustice at some point. And most only live in the shadow of the giants who went before them, possibly a blow to their ego's.

Who promised you life would be fair?

Yet as a group, it seems to the rest of the world, they set themselves apart, as though their particular club is somehow especially worthy and deserving of elevation and respect. Did no one ever tell them that respect is not a right, it's something earned through your actions, not your title.

What Are Lawyers Like?

Lawyers themselves have something to say about lawyers who are bullies, but it was notable that my research led me to lawyers who, clearly, are not bullies those with an admirable level of emotional intelligence.. Their opinions matter, because in the just society in which we all want to live, the particular set of principles they live by, and comment on, perhaps in the hope of maintaining their chosen career as a respectable one, are critical. Without principled lawyers, the law will stand in tatters, leading to life in anarchy- one that few aspire to.

Celina Rose Glitta, J.D. from NIU Law School, says many lawyers are simply miserable. Bullied early in their careers, probably by older attorneys, they became bullies themselves.

Abdullah Daniel Talikdar, Legum Magister (LLM) in air and space law, and competition law, thinks that after law school, lawyers learn to become bullies to survive in a profession where everything is an adversarial contest. And some, he says, fail to "switch off" after work.

Celina may be onto something with people doggedly doing things the same way that those before them did, whether it’s right or wrong. But, apologies, Abdullah, your thoughts are insightful and I’m no ML, but would argue that it works the other way. People with a tendency to bully are drawn to a career as a lawyer (*but that doesn’t mean all lawyers are bullies) because of the perception that being a bully is a characteristic often admired in legal circles.

Because of the opportunities to feel superior by bullying others(feeding the ego), the bully will not only think he will have a great career that perfectly matches his need to bully others but can also extract eye-watering amounts of money that will enable him to buy better things that feed his ego. Sounds like a win-win. Unless of course, you're the client or other person in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lawyer Bullying Tactics?

Attorney Mike, a personal injury attorney with 20 years of experience sounds like he too may be one of the 10% when he eloquently reminds us that not all lawyers are bullies (I agree, wholeheartedly). Mike says that being part of being a lawyer means dealing with a system that is adversarial by design. With skills learned through training that can be perceived as aggressive or bullying, lawyers must present their clients' cases vigorously and challenge the other side's version.

Training extends to effective negotiation and mediation skills but the media is not always an accurate representation of reality, as many lawyers use less confrontational methods that don’t get much exposure, leaving the public with the perception that lawyers are bullies.

While the legal profession is bound to ethical standards that discourage bullying behavior, requiring mostly that they act with integrity, civility, and respect, diverse personalities, and strategies find their way to the legal profession (or industry, depending on the reader’s perception), and some lawyers may adopt a more aggressive approach, while others may be more conciliatory.

Bullying is not encouraged in legal education. Professionalism, ethics, and a range of negotiation and mediation skills are integral to the practice of law. Yet the lived experience of many is that bullies dominate the legal arena, some say at least 90% of lawyers they have encountered are bullies, dishonest, or both.

A 2022 Gallup poll listed what people see as the most dishonest professions. Car salespeople were in first place with an honesty and ethics rating of just 9%. Lawyers did a little better than Congress, Senators, and Insurance salespeople, but still only managed to get an honesty and ethics rating of 22%. This means that, in the opinion of those polled, 78% are giving the rest a bad name.

For those of us who have had the misfortune of sitting opposite a lawyer bully, or in the witness box, or even some staff members who are unlucky enough to work for lawyer bullies, the lived experience after encountering a group is the most experienced as bullies or liars or both. Even judges aren't immune, with newsreels reflecting more and more stories of attempts to bully them (perhaps also a tactic of a lawyer bully, to undermine a certain judgment expected against a client, but also dismantling faith in the law for the general public, leading to a greater justification for lawlessness by those who may otherwise have been law-abiding).

Somewhere, the message being taught in law schools and espoused by professional bodies in the legal industry is being lost, leaving the world at large to deal with bullies who use the moniker, lawyer, to get away with it and have a license to cause pain and devastation as they harvest an inequitable wage. It seems that a course on "filling the world with love" isn't part of the curriculum.

As much as the law matters, so does perception and justice. And sadly, the perception globally is that there are far too many lawyers who are bullies, but they are not necessarily bullies because they are lawyers. There’s a far greater likelihood that they are lawyers because they are bullies. And they are doing an injustice to themselves, their clients and others.

What Makes A Lawyer Bully Others?

In general terms, bullies bully because:

• They want to dominate others and improve their social status.

• Lacking awareness or insight, they fail to recognize their behavior as a problem.

• They lack feelings of remorse.

• They have low self-esteem and bully to feel better about themselves.

These personal qualities make the law a tempting career option. There is an old adage amongst lawyers:

“If the facts are on your side, pound the facts into the table;

If the law is on your side, pound the law into the table;

If neither the facts nor the law is on your side, pound the table.”

Pounding on the table sounds very much like what kids do when they don't get their way. When people are locked into a schoolyard mentality it's a measure of their lack of personal development and awareness, and an indication that self-awareness and emotional intelligence are some things that may need attention.

Behind the reasons often lies a deep pain that causes feelings of insecurity, a lack of self-esteem, and a loud cry for help. Outwardly successful with all the material trappings of a lawyer, there's a fear that it could all disappear and that their lives may have no real meaning in the end.

But a life always has meaning. Lawyers have been seeking and finding justice for centuries, and that is a noble cause. Many giants have come from the legal profession and are universally admired and respected. The problem lies with the individual lawyers.

Bob McCoy, a trial lawyer since 1993 says that lawyers who bully have not developed the skills of persuasion necessary to be effective. He says most attorneys are bullies when they start out because they don't have the skill set necessary to get what their client wants in any other way. It takes many years of practice as an attorney to develop skills of persuasion and negotiation to the point that a lawyer can be effective using just those skills, a strategy that is far more effective and used by lawyers who are more successful than those who bully.

Bob is a perceptive man, recognizing that those attorneys who have developed their skills stand head and shoulders above the rest and are highly respected by judges and other attorneys. But it seems that for most lawyers, bullying is the go-to tactic that may bring them some success from time to time, notwithstanding that they will never be perceived as one of the greats. The underlying message is that there is a lack of skill or personal growth in the individual lawyers, who then resort to bullyboy tactics to make a living.

Lies And Other Devious Ploys Are Not A Professional Tactic, They’re a Personality Deficiency

Presenting a client’s version in the best possible way is part and parcel of being a lawyer. But there’s a distinct line between advocating and dishonesty. Lawyers who find themselves resorting to pounding the table, rather than pounding the facts may want to take a long hard look at their case and decide whether they want to reap the fruits of deviant behavior that could destroy a witness, opponents, or adversary's life. Azazel's story illuminates the destruction that lies wreak.

There is nothing good about lies, whether you're a lawyer, a baker, or a candlestick maker. The short-term satisfaction of getting away with lying, or even winning a case based on lies, has no merit.

There is something very wrong with people who think it does, and where this is a person who has the good fortune of being educated enough to understand that laws are one of the essential pillars of society, it is morally, and legally, reprehensible. It sucks! Or- put more eloquently by Greek philosopher, Sophocles,

"Rather fail with honour, than succeed by fraud."

Sophocles

The same goes for dirty little backroom deals that some lawyers seem to pride themselves on for reasons that are incomprehensible to the rest of the world. The deals are generally tailored around the lawyers, their seniority, and their culpability (as in the case of Azazel), rather than being carefully crafted around the needs and circumstances of respective clients, and allowing them to make their own decisions on matters that will affect their lives long after the lawyers have spent their loot.

Too many lawyers have lost the plot: Lawyers act for clients. It is the client that is central, the most important player on the stage, not the lawyer- they only play a supporting role. The decisions and strategies are for the client to decide, the lawyer is there to guide and to act on the instructions of the client. When you hold someone else's life in your hands, it may make you feel God-like, but lawyers have no business playing God, as they tend to do, only far less successfully than the Higher Power named God.

These lawyers, in their insecurity, also want to play judge and wheeler-dealer at the same time. The opinions and decisions of judges have legal and far-reaching consequences, which is why judges are generally subjected to rigorous training and narrow admission criteria. The opinions of lawyers, in most circumstances, are simply opinions and decisions, carrying no more weight than that of any other person on the planet. Even though the system in most countries is rigged in a paternalistic way, with juniors forced by tradition to kowtow to their seniors, the reality is that all opinions are meaningful, even the opinions of clients.

Finding respect-able lawyers, those that can be respected, is no easy task. Finding trust-able lawyers among them is not guaranteed. Engaging a lawyer is often like a crap shoot but with very bad odds. Too many lawyers appear to have forgotten that the practice of law revolves around the client's needs, not their wallets, and lawyers play a central role in maintaining an egalitarian and just society.

It's a pity that the Latin term, contra bonos mores, a legal term meaning contrary to good morals- morals set by a particular society, who choose the code they wish to live by, is not, in itself, classified as a crime in every country. Most of us want to live in a society that includes morals such as murder, dishonesty, and destruction of lives being regarded as a bad thing, with decency, kindness, and integrity being a good thing. Prison societies often set their morality in the opposite direction and it may be no bad thing if those who are like-minded were to join that society.

Trust Is A Meaningful Word, But The Meaning Of Trust In Law Is Different For Different Lawyers

At its most basic level, trust means belief, faith, and freedom from suspicion or doubt. It’s the sureness of certain things that people don’t stop to think about when making decisions. And it’s arguably the thing that is most abused by lawyers, with the truth competing for the winning spot.

Facing legal woes, people will place their trust in a particular lawyer without much consideration of why they trust. It may be because a friend or acquaintance said the lawyer is trustworthy, or it's because honourable people have from time to time been members of the legal industry, setting standards of professional conduct that are certainly deserving of trust. And it's important because, without faith in the law, society would be in bad shape.

It seems to go wrong where that trust is expropriated by individual lawyer bullies who have an agenda that is as close to those who practice law with integrity as the North Pole is to Antarctica. Clients and cases are simply cash cows, a captive audience for them to do as they please, including satisfying any bullyboy urges that may arise.

More disturbingly, lawyers often manage a bank account called a trust account, so named because a great deal of trust is placed in them when other people's money lands in the account. Too many forget that it's neither their money nor a slush fund on which to draw to cover their operational or personal expenses. Abuse of trust funds is rife, being a popular charge on disciplinary proceeding rolls of professional bodies against lawyers.

Yet this doesn't appear to be a deterrent. One must accept that if you steal, there's a good chance you lie as well. So lying may be a strategy that many use to avoid being disbarred if bullying doesn't work.

Aside from money, clients often pour out their hopes and dreams to their lawyers and trust the lawyer to guide them to reach them without extracting a small fortune that can lead to a whole new set of problems. The trust also extends to advice, where clients trust their lawyers to advise them on the best route that will serve their interests- not simply a route that will only fatten the lawyer's wallet.

Trust is a big word, with even bigger connotations. Caution should always be exercised when placing your trust in a person, even, or perhaps especially, a lawyer.

Destroying People By Cross-Examination

How many times has a junior lawyer exclaimed in sheer admiration, "You really destroyed that witness!" to counsel who has torn apart a person, rather than their evidence? Worse still, how many times did counsel smile wryly at the perceived compliment, with smug satisfaction?

What happened to playing the ball, not the player, and the fine and elegant art of dissecting evidence to serve justice? As the trolls rule the internet, the same hate pervades the courtroom. Are the ones in court a better class of haters, and if so, how have we reached the point where there is competition amongst people with hate-filled hearts?

Acting on hate is never productive and causes trauma not only to the victim but also to the perpetrator, even if it simply lies in wait on their subconscious, only to emerge at inappropriate moments. A psychopath, for example, will be unable to develop normal relationships without seeing people as prospective victims. A bully will similarly lack the benefits of a meaningful relationship (such as experiencing and returning genuine love and affection), yet that is the very thing they need.

Lawyers Are Not All Bullies

Celina Rose Glitta ends her post by saying “All facts considered, I sincerely apologize on behalf of all attorneys who have treated clients with disrespect. This profession needs a major overhaul.”

Ms Glitta, you cannot imagine how your words will help those who have survived bullying lawyers. And your words are astute, as an industry, lawyers have a lot of soul-searching to do before they can call themselves a profession again. Many lawyers are as ashamed of their association with the other 90% (or 78%, depending on your opinion) as their honor is tainted by things that are outside of their control.

But as the gladiators go out seeking justice for their clients, perhaps professional bodies could implement an entrance test that extends to personality testing, screening for possible signs of narcissism or other personality disorders that may indicate a propensity to bully and set more stringent licensing requirements. And include love as a criteria.

Instead of cutting off the heads of the giants who went before in order to feel tall, by disrespecting their work and ethos that built the profession, lawyer could ask of themselves:

So are you brave and strong and true?

And do you fill the world with love your whole life through?

And those that say yes, could then stand on the shoulders of the giants as Sir Isaac Newton describes Descartes- on whose work he built, and build the law into something meaningful, not just a mechanism for extracting money.

From the author:

If you're a lawyer reading this article, and you laughed or shook your head when you saw things you experienced or heard about your colleagues, you likely cringe at how the 90% give you a bad name. Please don't. The author- and many others, are deeply grateful for the difference you make in their lives as you pursue justice for those who struggle to find fairness in this world.

To the Celina's, Abdullah's, Mike's, and Bob's of this world, thank you. Without people like you, we are at risk of the Mad Max movies and others like it becoming our lived reality. Your principles give meaning to your lives, and you may not realize it, but to many other lives, whether they are inspired or helped by the fact that your souls spent time on this difficult planet, and made life a little better, a little easier, for others. May you inspire many bullying lawyers to subscribe to your principles (or channels, if that's what will get those principles more exposure).

But if you’re getting all hot under the collar, consider whether there are words that resonate, striking a cord in their truth. Perhaps it’s time to think about how to find your way back to being one of the 10%? Healing your own trauma may be a good start.

Note from Gezinta:

Gezinta is about healing, and while there are several lawyers globally who are incredibly decent people, practicing law to the highest ethical standards (that 10%), and are guided by their inherent integrity, justice is a relative concept and the law seldom leads to healing. Retribution is meaningless and even where perpetrators are punished by the law, this seldom brings satisfaction, and can never take away the pain.

There are people in the legal industry who will make things much, much worse because their intentions are stuck in serving themselves and their needs, not in serving justice. But there are also some beautiful souls in the legal profession who can and will help you on your journey. We hope with all our hearts that you find what you need.

Never give up, where there's hurt, there's room for healing. And in healing, the hurt and the trauma both find their place in the puzzle that is the meaning of life.

If you can't help, at least don't hurt.