Delaware Employment Law Blog

Delaware attorneys are not strangers to civility. In 2003, the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Bar Association promulgated the “Principles of Professionalism for Delaware Lawyers.” The Principles provide insight into the practice of law in the First State. “Civility” is defined in the Principles and is taken seriously by the courts and bar as a whole.

The Principles demonstrate that civility in the workplace is not limited to the cubicles of corporate America. Jerks at Work are not welcome in any workplace, including the lawyer’s workplace—the courtroom. Here's a story about a judge outside of Delaware who is an advocate of civility:

U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange sanctioned lawyer Gerard Pignato for his extraordinarily jerky conduct. Pignato was reprimanded for comments he made in letters to his opposing counsel. As penance, the judge ordered the sharp-tongued Pignato to write an article on civility. He must include why he is writing the article and direct it to new attorneys, so they might avoid a similar embarrassment.

Here are some examples of his noxious and debasing comments:

Your self-serving comments are putting me to sleep. Can you not say anything in a page or less? You're just a broker who refers difficult cases to experienced attorneys. Be like a potted plant and sit quietly in the corner.

{The court's full Opinion can be read here.}

You don’t have to be a lawyer to experience this type of attack from a colleague, vendor, or customer, even. This conduct is very effective—no matter how illogical, it is difficult to jut brush off degrading comments.

I think Judge Miles-LaGrange should be applauded for taking action when she saw what can be described only as unbecoming conduct. And her response is commendable, as well. Unlike a monetary fine, Mr. Pignato is forced to sit down, pen in hand, and mull over his behavior and put into words just how dishonorable his actions were and how embarrassing this type of attitude is for other members of the bar. Plus, if his article deters even a single junior lawyer from scribing a seething note to opposing counsel, he’ll have made a real contribution to the profession.

The Preamble to the Principles of Professionalism states:

The purpose of adopting the Principles is to promote and foster the ideals of professional courtesy, conduct and cooperation. These Principles are fundamental to the functioning of our system of justice and public confidence in that system.

Maybe Mr. Pignato can use the Delaware Principles as a reference as he writes his article for the Oklahoma Bar Journal.

[Hat tip to the Legal Profession Blog]

John Phillips at The Word on Employment Law noted the ABA Journal's post on this story, as well.

As a Tennessee appellate court noted in rejecting Joan Frye's lawsuit against her hospital employer, “[T]he fact that a supervisor is mean, hard to get along with, overbearing, bellig­erent or otherwise hostile and abusive does not violate civil rights statutes.”
Workplace Bullying is a current hot topic in the business world. There are lots of theories about how bullying costs employer real dollars and cents in a variety of ways. From fdlr.com, here is another potential cost--employees' health.

Given the rapidly increasing cost of health insurance, this theory gives businesses another reason to put a stop to bullying behavior.

fdlr.com reports:

When it comes to employee health, bullying is bad for business.

Workplace bullying can create a cache of health problems for workers who feel overburdened by stress, said Gregg Brewer, employee assistance program supervisor for IntegNET, a division of Agnesian HealthCare.

Employee Assistance Programs are designed to prevent workplace bullying and solve conflicts that arise at work, among other things.

Brewer said someone who is being bullied at work is often under a tremendous amount of pressure.

"It leads to stress," he said. "And generally people who are under a lot of stress have 45 percent higher health- care costs."

Physical signs of stress include rapid breathing, fatigue, sleep and appetite changes, Brewer said. Emotional symptoms can include anger, irritability and forgetfulness and cause employees to have a hard time concentrating at work.

These stress symptoms can lead to changes in productivity and interaction with co-workers and lower morale, Brewer said.

More serious health problems have also been linked to stress.

"There is a strong connection between stress and cardiovascular issues," Brewer said.

Stress can cause blood pressure to increase and can lead to strokes and other heart problems, he said.

Brewer said it might also lead employees struggling to cope to drugs and alcohol.