Bullying in the legal profession is believed to be more common than in some other professions. It is believed that its adversarial, hierarchical tradition contributes towards this. Women, trainees and solicitors who have been qualified for five years or less are more impacted, as are ethnic minority lawyers and gay, lesbian, and bisexual lawyers.
Half of women lawyers and one in three men who took part in a study by the
Law Council of Australia (LCA) reported they had been
bullied
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
or
intimidated in the
workplace
A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of the ...
. The Law Council of Australia has found that women face significant levels of
discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
, with one of the study's key figures telling Lawyers Weekly the profession is a "men's only club".
[Leanne Mezrani 14 March 201]
Law is failing and hurting women
Lawyers Weekly
According to former High Court judge Michael Kirby, the rudeness of judges trickles down to senior lawyers who then vent their frustrations on more junior staff, thus creating a cycle of bullying and
stress that is rife within the
legal profession
Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first pass a bar examination after obtaining a law degree or some other form of l ...
.
[Bullying judges breed stressful system: Kirby]
/ref>
See also
* Legal abuse
Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...
References
Further reading
* Omari, M. & Paull, M. (2014). “Shut up and bill”: Workplace bullying challenges for the legal profession. International Journal of the Legal Profession. Volume 20, Issue 2, 2013 p1-20.
External links
* Stephanie A. Scharf & Roberta D. Liebenberg
Bullying in the Legal Profession: A Study of Illinois Lawyers’ Experiences and Recommendations for Change
Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism (2024).
* James Barnes 16 October 2012 The Global Legal Pos
Bullying rife in English legal profession
* Sophie Schroder 8 Oct 2014 Australasian Lawye
Lawyers some of Australia’s worst bullies?
* The Connecticut Law Tribune August 27, 201
Editorial: Confronting Bullying Within the Legal Profession
Knocking Out Bullying in the Legal Profession
Civility Matters: Rudeness and Bullying in the Legal Profession
* 8 January 2014 Legal Future
Bullying at work on the rise, says lawyer support charity
* David Yamada December 10, 201
Bullying lawyer suspended from practice for two years
* Harriet Alexander March 23, 201
Bullying at Work Legal Organizations, Coping Strategies, and Health Problems
March 3, 2010 Ben Schneiders
{{Law
Abuse of the legal system
Workplace harassment and bullying
Practice of law
Legal ethics
Persecution