Bullying in the Legal Profession: Its Impact on Lawyers and Recommendations for Change

Bullying of lawyers by other lawyers is a long-known but little-discussed problem, even though it exists in many practice settings across the country. Bullying can negatively impact the quality of a lawyer’s day-to-day practice, their emotional well-being and physical health, and the chance to thrive and be successful. Bullying also impedes an employer’s ability to create effective and collegial work teams, retain lawyers who do good work, and foster a culture that is inclusive and supportive of success for lawyers at all levels.

Join our speakers Roberta (“Bobbi”) Liebenberg and Stephanie Scharf, both former Chairs of the American Bar Association Commission on Women, to discuss their new research about Bullying in the Legal Profession, which was sponsored and published by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism.

Based on extensive quantitative and qualitative data from more than 6,000 lawyers, and spanning diverse demographics and workplaces, this innovative research shows with clarity the many negative effects that bullying has on lawyers and the firms, companies, agencies, courts, and non-profits where bullying takes place. Of particular concern: while bullying impacts lawyers from all backgrounds, bullying disproportionately impacts women attorneys, younger attorneys, attorneys with disabilities, attorneys of color, and LGBTQ+ attorneys.

An important section of the Report describes recommended and data-driven best practices for leaders, legal employers, and individuals to take to eliminate bullying and its pernicious effects.

We welcome you to attend this program to hear researchers and co-authors Stephanie Scharf and Roberta Liebenberg discuss their empirical work and their recommended best practices to combat bullying in the legal profession.