Opening Statement. Respect for One Another

• Author: James A. Reeder Jr.
• Pages: 4-4

Opening Statement

Published in Litigation, Volume 47, Number 3, Spring 2021. © 2021 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be

copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. 4

JAMES A. REEDER JR.

The author is a partner with Jones Day, Houston, and chair of the Litigation Section.

I am going to spend the next few columns

expounding on each of the areas of our

theme for the year: Respect. I want to fo-

cus this quarter on respect for each other,

especially in the context of litigation. As

I mentioned in my last column, the theme

of respect emanated from my own observa

-

tions about how lawyers on opposite sides

of a case relate to one another. My beliefs

about how opposing lawyers should relate

to one another are grounded in the lessons

of my childhood. I remember that when

I was a kid, my dad—who was a trial law-

yer in Shreveport, Louisiana (and who has

been highlighted in most of my speeches

and columns this year)—used to come

home and talk about some lawyer he was

“trying a case with” (which is the way he

referred to lawyers who were on the other

side of a case from him). Shreveport was

small enough that the lawyer he was talk-

ing about was usually a family friend or

the father of somebody I went to school

with. My dad’s observations about the

other lawyer were never unflattering.

He never said anything that created an

unfavorable impression for me. In fact, I

know that he often was a glowing source

of referrals for these lawyers many years

after my parents left Shreveport.

I entered law school and began my law

practice with expectations of a certain

level of civility and professionalism, born

of my childhood experiences. So it was a

considerable shock to me early in my ca-

reer when a senior partner at an esteemed

Texas law firm who was on the same side of

a matter with me subjected me to a verbal

barrage of personal insults and threats over

the phone because I thought a document

had been forwarded to him when it had

actually been inadvertently omitted. The

call left me trembling and unable to sleep

for days. It was only after we settled the

case that he called me to semi-apologize by

saying, “I was taught that in order to be an

effective litigator, you had to be an a**hole.”

I wish I could say that was the last time I

had such an encounter; it wasn’t. I began

to wonder whether it was true that in or-

der to be effective, I needed to be meaner,

ruder, nastier. Maybe I was too nice?

After some reflection, I decided that

although I thought of myself as having

considerable trial skills, if those attributes

were also required, I was in the wrong

business... and that I would not adopt

those traits regardless of the tone taken

by the other lawyers I was dealing with.

And if it ever seemed like taking this ap-

proach was a detriment to my client and

its position, I would need to call it quits. I

was fortunate to work closely with senior

lawyers at my firm who felt the same way

and made me believe it was possible to be

a great trial lawyer and a decent human

being as well.

So I started employing a few tricks to

disarm my adversary and preclude bad

behavior. I always pick up the phone and

introduce myself the moment I learn the

name of a lawyer on a matter. By the way,

letters or emails do not have the same im-

pact. If the other lawyer is in Houston (or

if I find myself visiting the other lawyer’s

city), I will take that person to lunch. If

I get some sort of nasty communication

before I have had a chance to do either

of these things, I pick up the phone in re-

sponse, try to find some common ground to

talk about (e.g., a colleague or classmate we

both know), and alert the other lawyer that

I am still going to proceed in a courteous

and professional manner. It works. I have

rarely had a restless night’s sleep worrying

about dealing with the other side.

About 20 years ago, I started presenting

a CLE on professionalism with a specific

focus on interaction with other lawyers.

The good news, I think, is that fewer and

fewer litigators seem to be taught the les-

son that that first lawyer I encountered

told me he had been taught. Regardless,

I promised myself that I would take ev-

ery chance I could to teach the oppo-

site lesson—that effective advocacy can

be achieved while maintaining courtesy

and dignity, that litigators can disagree

without being disagreeable. Respect. Live

it every day! Be an example to younger

lawyers! It exists only if you show it. q

RESPECT FOR

ONE ANOTHER