Lawyers behaving badly: Do new lawyers need mentoring in civility?

In "Stop behaving badly, boorish lawyers told" (Toronto Star), several possible reasons are put forth to explain why the number of complaints made to the Law Society of Upper Canada about rude and abusive behavior has increased. These reasons include:

"Our society isn't as polite as it was," [Derry] Millar said in an interview. "People on their BlackBerrys and their phones have no idea of who is around them. They are not engaged. You phone somebody and you get an automated attendant. We've lost social interaction and people are overstressed, overworked and rushed.

And . . .

Remaining on one's best behaviour, though, can be challenging in an adversarial justice system that pits lawyers against one another and fosters a "radical kind of individualism," [Eugene] Meehan notes.

This one is probably a factor . . .

[Derry] Millar said the law society is also looking at strengthening mentoring programs. Some believe incivility is on the rise because many new lawyers start out on their own these days instead of working alongside experienced members of the bar, who could show them how to behave.

I have not thought much recently about how one learns the culture of the profession. This morning I spent some time recalling what I learned from my mentors. The highest degree of civility, courtesy, and respect for all lawyers and clients was certainly a part of it what they taught me. Their teaching was almost all by example; I watched them maintain that demeanor and behavior even when the other side was acting with a low degree of civility.

What do you think? Is civility something one can learn from another? How do new lawyers learn the way to navigate in a civil manner, even when confronted with boorish behavior? Are law schools teaching civility? Should they?

Comments

[Julie A. Fleming]

This is an interesting article. I do think that we live in a society that encourages a lack of interaction. Take one look around you in any public location--how many of the people are on the phone, listening to an i-pod, or otherwise withdrawing from society?

A friend of mine recently told me a story about working at a study abroad program in Italy. None of the teenagers who participated in the program were actually going out into the community and interacting with the locals. Instead, they were spending all of their time on the internet or phone, communicating with friends and family from back home. In order to get the kids involved, they had to take away their technology.

I definitely believe that civility is a learned behavior. Since we were babies, we've learned how to behave from observing those around us. Strengthening mentoring programs sounds to me like the best available solution.