Vol. 12, No. 3, Pg. 14. Civility Among Lawyers.

• Author: By Michael F. Gillen

South Carolina Lawyer

2000.

Vol. 12, No. 3, Pg. 14.

Civility Among Lawyers

14Civility Among LawyersBy Michael F. GillenPerhaps even more important than being good business, professional courtesy is the foundation we need to build upon to improve morale and satisfaction in the legal profession. As recent surveys show, many lawyers are increasingly unhappy and unable to find personal fulfillment in the practice of law. The first section of this article will address the benefits of professionalism and courtesy in the courtroom. The second will consider how lawyers can apply these principles outside the courtroom and in their personal lives.

16The Rules of Professional Conduct, the successor to the Canons of Ethics that served generations of lawyers well, contain 54 rules regarding our relationship with our clients, our roles as counselor and advocate, our transactions with persons other than clients, our firms and associations, public service, advertising and maintaining the integrity of the profession. I, as a lawyer, have a duty to you to abide by the spirit, as well as the letter, of these rules. You, as a lawyer, have a corresponding duty to me to abide by the letter as well as the spirit of these rules.

The Rules of Professional Conduct are published in several sources and formats. The purpose of this segment is to discuss those rules and principles that are either not published or not often cited or that are difficult to find. These are the rules that you would have learned from your mother if your mother practiced law.

IN THE COURTROOM

Never address your adversary in the courtroom. You may direct statements or questions to the court, the witness, the jury, the bailiff or the "child under 10 years of age" who draws the jury, but never address opposing counsel in the courtroom. Lawyers who do not address each other in the courtroom will not have a heated verbal exchange in the courtroom.

For example, if you need to ask opposing counsel about an exhibit, address the court and say, "Your Honor, would the court please inquire as to whether counsel may have plaintiff's exhibit # 7?" That should lead to a quick and amicable solution. Direct the same question to opposing counsel and the response may be "Don't you have it?" followed by "No, you took it from the witness" followed by "Admit you took it and that you do not want the judge or the jury to see it" followed by "You don't need to take cheap shots, you know I didn't take that exhibit." At that point the judge either holds both lawyers in contempt of court or states, "Excuse me counsel, is this the exhibit for which you are looking?"

Never bicker with opposing counsel. A lawyer for whom I have the utmost respect has said for years that "Judges do not like bickering lawyers." From personal experience in the courtroom and from casual conversations with several judges, I have found this to be an absolute truth. When lawyers do not treat each other with courtesy and respect in the courtroom (which is the judge's territory) it not only demeans them, but it also irritates, if not angers, the court. When lawyers squabble in court, it puts the judge in a position akin to that of a baby-sitter. If opposing counsel does or says anything to provoke you, the most powerful reply is the one that is articulated with dignity-or not articulated at all.

Never stand in the courtroom except when the judge is standing or when you are addressing the court, a witness or the jury. The person standing has the floor and only one lawyer may have the floor at a time. If you are standing and examining a witness and your adversary states, or screams, "objection," sit and remain seated until the judge rules and your adversary sits. When you finish an argument or an objection, sit. If the judge simply asks a question, you may not have time to sit while it is being asked but if the judge begins a monologue, sit. This principle involves good manners but it also involves more. If you stand when you talk and sit when you are silent, you give the impression to the judge, the jury, the spectators and your client that you are absolutely in control of your...