CIVILITY IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Throughout law school, you are taught the importance of being civil as a lawyer. This involves civility in the community, with clients, and other legal professionals. But what civility really looks like in the legal profession depends on who you ask. Many lawyers have expressed that they have had not so civil interactions with other legal professionals at least once or twice in their career. This may include inflammatory language and not-so-nice pleasantries through email correspondence, phone calls, mediations, and discoveries.

Core Principle

While civility is one of the core principles of the Law Society Rules, it is clear it is not always followed. As a lawyer, it is understandable that you have a passion for zealously advocating on behalf of your client, but there is a line that should never be crossed. When your advocacy turns into insults, inappropriate accusations, and attacks on another’s character, you are no longer fulfilling your duty to represent your client with civility and integrity. The focus is no longer on the matter at hand. The other party will be offended, and instead of both parties working towards resolving the matter, they are more focused on defending their character, and this is when ego takeovers. This may then lead to frivolous motions and grounds for costs.

While not all lawyers participate in uncivil behaviour with their colleagues, it goes without saying that you can expect to run into a few throughout your legal career. When you experience this, it is important to remember that you have a duty to your client. Don’t fall into the trap of responding to insults and character attacks. Stay focused on the matter at hand, and do what is in your client’s best interest. At the end of the day, your reputation as a lawyer is very important.

Legal Community

The community is small, and you can be sure you will have the same lawyers and/or adjusters working on the other side in different cases. Do you want to be known as the lawyer who is a bully and picks unreasonable fights with people, or do you want to be known as the lawyer who is a pleasure to work with? The choice is yours.