Nutmeg Lawyer on Civility.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | April 11, 2018

No. 1,468

Adrian Baron, the Nutmeg Lawyer, uses the latest technology except when posing for gag photos. The bell is for summoning his secretary for something important, like coffee. The antique typewriter and telephone illustrate how he cannot bear to throw anything away.

Here’s a link to another of my fave’s: Nutmeg Lawyer.  Here he explains something every lawyer should have learned in kindergarten.  But some of us need to be reminded.

While it is worth the click above to read the whole thing, here’s a couple of graphs for millennials and others with short attention spans.  (Oops, not nice but so true).

“From the moment he enters the court house, Richard is rude to everyone from the marshals to the court clerks.  He acts as everyone is beneath him.  He comes off very aggressive. While there is a time and a place for being aggressive and you should advocate fiercely for your client, this doesn’t excuse you from being a decent human being.  You would be surprised how far a little civility will get you.  In any event, I think Richard picked up the obnoxious trait from his dear old mother (And I will surely suffer for this comment). His mother is the type of person that yells at waiters thinking it will lead to better service. She doesn’t realize that the waiter is probably spitting in her food. 

What Richard failed to realize was that courthouses can be pretty tight knit. Marshals talk to prosecutors. Clerks talk to judges. People tend to notice how you treat people. Pretty soon, you have a reputation for being a mean spirited bully. It is a reputation you do not want to have.  Clerks hold the key to scheduling matters on busy dockets. Court marshals have the ability to usher you in the court faster when you are running late. Secretaries have the judge’s ear for the better part of the day. Is it really a good idea to piss these people off?  Besides, didn’t you learn anything from 1980s cinema?  The bully never wins.”

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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