Most "seasoned" practitioners will tell you that civility among lawyers has (particularly in the bigger communities) deteriorated considerably over the years. It used to be that cordiality between lawyers was the norm. Now it seems that "oneupmanship" or "going for the jugular" is the name of the game.
K.C. Victor wrote a great piece that was published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal (legal) newspaper on July 31, 2007 with the heading "Manners Maketh the Lawyer...", in which she stated that "...every relationship between a lawyer and client is based at least partially on personal interaction, (and) there are certain standards of etiquette to which lawyers should adhere when dealing with clients or potential clients." She listed "graciousness" and "decency" as being two of those basic considerations.
It is our belief that those same basic considerations, or "manners," should also exist in lawyer-to-lawyer relationships (not just lawyer-to-client relationships).
We would add to Ms. Victor's list of manners the following when a lawyer deals with another lawyer:
- truthfulness and honesty
- commitment (living up to one's word)
- friendliness (the reverse of looking at one's adversary as "the enemy")
- making the transaction a win-win (not a win-lose)
...or, are we just too "old fashioned"?
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