Bullying Is ‘Prevalent’ in the Legal Profession, New Study Finds

As the father of a school-age child, I worry about bullying. But bullying extends well beyond the playground. It follows us into adulthood—and even into the legal profession, according to a noteworthy new report that was released last week.

Considering the challenges that lawyers already face, the idea of having to navigate them in the face of bullying behavior should trouble anyone concerned about lawyer wellness.

Twenty-four percent of lawyers experienced bullying within the past year, the study found. It was based on responses from more than 6,000 Illinois lawyers who completed a survey commissioned by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism in fall 2023.

One in four lawyers surveyed is no small number. In the words of Roberta “Bobbi” Liebenberg of the Red Bee Group, the consultancy that conducted the survey, “We found that bullying is prevalent in the legal profession in Illinois, and we believe it is equally prevalent elsewhere too.”

Liebenberg added that bullying disproportionately affects women, persons of color, LGBTQ+ attorneys, and attorneys with disabilities. This is particularly concerning given the gains these groups have made in terms of their representation in the legal sector over the years.

Specifically, the study found that 38% of female lawyers were bullied at work in the past year, compared with 15% of male lawyers. Thirty-five percent of Black lawyers, 34% of Hispanic lawyers, and 28% of Asian American lawyers were bullied, compared with 23% of White lawyers. Twenty-nine percent of gay, lesbian, or bisexual lawyers were bullied, as were 38% of lawyers with a disability.

The study also found that the prevalence of bullying could vary with age. Thirty-nine percent of lawyers between 25 and 35 reported being bullied, compared with 12% of lawyers between 66 to 76.

This made me wonder if different age groups could have different understandings of what constitutes bullying? Could bullying be, at least to some extent, in the eye of the beholder?

“The oldest cohort might have a different tolerance for bullying,” said study co-author Stephanie Scharf. “But it shouldn’t be surprising that the most junior people in the survey reported the highest incidence of bullying. Bullying is a power play—it’s using power against people—and the easiest people to use power against are the most junior.”

Scharf—who holds a Ph.D. in behavioral sciences and a law degree—also pushed back on the suggestion of subjectivity to the concept of bullying. She pointed out that in addition to providing a definition of bullying—“inappropriate behavior intended to intimidate, humiliate, or control the actions of another person, including verbal, nonverbal, or physical acts”—the study identified specific behaviors and asked respondents whether they had personally experienced them.

For example, 66% of lawyers bullied in the past year reported “verbal intimidation, such as disrespectful speech, insults, name-calling, shouting.” Fourteen percent mentioned “physical intimidation, such as hovering, invading personal space, throwing objects, stalking.”

How is the legal profession dealing with bullying? Not very effectively, according to the report. Only 20% of bullied lawyers reported it to a supervisor, upper-level attorney, or human-resources manager. Reasons for not reporting bullying behavior included not wanting to be perceived as weak or a “complainer” (34%), fear of the bully’s status (27%), and the belief that the employer wouldn’t do anything (27%).

Fear of employer inaction is understandable. Of lawyers who did report bullying, 52% rated their employer’s response as either “not sufficient” or “totally unsatisfactory.”

“Sometimes the bullies are powerful people in the workplace,” Scharf told me. “Maybe HR doesn’t want to upset the apple cart or create issues. But what they may not realize is that by doing nothing, they are creating issues.”

“Bullying adversely affects lawyers’ productivity, emotional well-being, and physical health,” Liebenberg said. “It results in increased job turnover and attrition from the profession.”

And bullying carries reputational costs for employers that are known to tolerate it. As Scharf put it, “What do people think about you and your lawyers when they see people doing this? Do you want a culture where people feel bullied, or where they feel included?”

Professor Tanina Rostain of Georgetown Law—whose scholarship focuses on the legal profession, but who wasn’t involved in the study—isn’t surprised by its findings about the prevalence of bullying. She suggested that they shed light on other problems in the profession.

“I suspect that bullying in the legal profession reflects a number of factors,” she said. “They include the adversarial ethos run amok, when it’s from opposing counsel; pressures on lawyers in solo and small practices and a lack of accountability for their behavior, when it’s from lawyers inside firms; and complete lack of accountability of judges, as to how they behave in courtrooms.”

But even if she wasn’t surprised by the overall picture painted by the study, Rostain praised it as an important piece of work: “Such a smart report, done so thoughtfully, about something I hadn’t seen framed in this way.” She expressed hope it spurs further research and positive changes.

What might some of those changes look like? The report offered recommendations for addressing bullying. Employers should develop and implement anti-bullying policies, and they should train their employees on anti-bullying policies and procedures. Courts should do their part by adopting standing orders prohibiting bullying and incivility in legal proceedings.

And those who engage in bullying must be held accountable, the authors argued. As one survey respondent said, “It’ll never stop if there aren’t meaningful consequences to bad behavior.”

Law firms and other legal employers should review this research and consider what reforms they might want to institute in response. While it’s possible to imagine overbroad conceptions of bullying or anti-bullying efforts going too far, law school graduates deserve to enter workplaces where they will be treated with civility, dignity, and respect.

David Lat, a lawyer turned writer, publishes Original Jurisdiction. He founded Above the Law and Underneath Their Robes, and is author of the novel “Supreme Ambitions.”

Read More Exclusive Jurisdiction