Don't Make it Personal

I was at the landlord and tenant tribunal recently, where I occasionally act as Duty Counsel.  I was assisting a tenant in negotiating a resolution with the landlord.  My client was angry with the landlord's lawyer and was quite hostile to the lawyer.  To my surprise, the lawyer responded and the two began trading rude comments back and forth.

Lawyers have to be prepared to receive the odd bit of verbal abuse from opposing parties and, occasionally, opposing counsel. I always joke that our lawyer's robes are made of Teflon® - meaning that whatever insult you throw at me in my capacity as a lawyer won't stick.

The point is this: we are advocates for our clients. We have no personal interest in the outcome of the litigation.  Of course, we all want to win.  However, once we descend into the arena and allow ourselves to feel insulted or slighted by the remarks or tactics of the other side, we lose our legal objectivity and are actually doing harm to our client?s case.

The lawyer referred to earlier was a very new lawyer, which does not excuse the conduct, but it makes it more understandable. Lawyers with more experience realise that the most effective way to act for your client is to remain detached emotionally from the case and get down to the real legal issues.

What does all this mean?

Yes, I care about you as a client or about the outcome of your case.  No, the case does not stress me out, occupy my thoughts at home and cause me to lose sleep.  I would have a mental breakdown if I was as emotionally attached to all my files to the same extent that each client is emotionally attached to their own file.

No, I don?t get offended when I am insulted by the other side.  If another lawyer or their client starts getting silly and insults me or my client, it is usually an indication that they are trying to avoid the real issues at stake in the litigation. 

A tip for those of you that decide to represent yourselves in court: Don?t get personal. Insulting the other side or their lawyer in court is a bad idea.  Judges have little tolerance for such behaviour in the courtroom.  Your conduct will hurt your credibility and, since credibility is most often a factor in deciding a case, you will lessen your chances of success.

Stick to the issues at hand.  Don?t get sidetracked by attacks on your integrity.  Don?t be concerned if your lawyer does not seem bothered by the other side?s conduct.  You will likely get a better result.