One thing I have written about the practice, that I have noticed (of which I still cannot figure out) is the willingness of attorneys to so quickly burn bridges with other attorneys. Just callously light those pathways a blaze, and for the absolute foolish of reasons, most of the time. I mean totally discard professional relationships that one has established for some time. All in the name of the old adage “It’s just business.” Let’s talk about that for a minute.

            Yes, the practice is hyper competitive at times and a lot of attorneys have a bad habit of not being able to dial their ultra-competitive natures back for the good of their clients. However, I keep seeing examples of colleagues that have known one another for long periods of time, and historically been able to be opponents without hating one another in the past, totally throw away those relationships on one case or one client. I mean, relationships that have seemed like stable collegial relationships for decades go up in flames due to one matter they happened to be handling on either side. This confounds me. But as I write this, of course I am looking inward and asking myself if I have ever done that myself?

          When I have worked hard to not only create but maintain collegial professional relationships, I have found that I have rarely, if ever, been quick to throw those relationships away; especially on one case. The only times I remember having to walk away from a long-established relationship is when I felt strongly that the person, I had known for many years, was no longer that person. It’s like in that old Golden Girls episode when Dorothy finds out her new friend held a membership at a racist, antisemitic country club. Or when someone has done something totally striking below the belt like lying or cheating. I have had to walk away from those relationships due to the compromise in trust that occurred. I think those are reasons to really contemplate distancing oneself from a previously cozy relationship. But I originally wrote about people that were willing to just burn those relationships, not just reevaluate them and reposition them in their lives. So, what gives? Why do so many attorneys just go for the jugular? Why are they so willing to totally destroy professional relationships they have maintained for so long? I think that a lot of attorneys suffer from something that I have talked about before in previous posts. The idea that to be a fierce advocate for their client, that they have to lose all civility (and sometimes morality) in dealing with the opposing side. That somehow being an asshole to opposing counsel means, magically, that they are doing one humdinger of a job for their client. This is not only wrong, but harmful to the attorney who ascribes to this. Attorneys who engender to burn all the bridges around them will soon lose count at which bridge they can ultimately cross to get off their proverbial island. This will leave them alone and without any support at some point in their career. I think attorneys who lack community or support are in danger of burning out sooner and becoming vulnerable to a lot of the vices that consistently plague us attorneys.

              As we approach a whole new year and look (hopefully) optimistically toward the future, we attorneys should make every effort to foster our collegial relationships as opposed to destroy them. We have to ask ourselves in those moments whether damaging a longstanding relationship over a case or client is really worth it or called for. I often don’t see how those behaviors benefit the representation all that much. I also am of the opinion that clients will come and go, and while we rely on the income they provide, our good relationships with other attorneys can be even more lucrative. Most attorneys will tell you that their best referral sources for business are other attorneys. When you burn those sources, you also close the door on multiple clients potentially walking through the door, not just that one client you think you are keeping by lighting that fire.

            So, in this holiday season, let’s leave the “burning” to that of the candles on a menorah or holiday lights rather than our long-standing professional relationships, shall we?

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