The Best Way To Handle The Jerks Working At Your Law Firm – Above the Law

Lawyers
tend
to
get
a
reputation
for
being
jerks,
both
within
and
outside
of
the
legal
industry.
Try
as
they
might,
they’ve
been
unable
to
shake
the
designation
—
and
maybe
that’s
because
some
lawyers
really

are
jerks.

BTI
Consulting
Group
recently
surveyed
more
than
1,000
lawyers
to
get
some
insight
as
to
whether
law
firms
are
doing
anything
about
those
who
could
be
characterized
as
jerks
and
their
associated
bad
behavior.
For
some,
the
results
may
be
shocking;
for
others,
it’s
really
no
surprise
at
all.
Take
a
look:

My
firm
absolutely
tolerates
jerks
and
bad
behavior: 
 22.14%

Kind
of
tolerates
jerks
and
bad
behavior: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31.14%

Occasionally
tolerates
jerks
and
bad
behavior: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19.70%

No
tolerance
for
jerks
and
bad
behavior: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27.05%

Nearly
73%
of
lawyers
say
jerks
are
tolerated
in
some
form
or
fashion
at
their
firms.
What
can
be
done
about
this?
BTI
has
some
pretty
sound
advice
on
how
firms
can
work
to
eliminate
this
behavior:

Coach
and
Advise

Provide
an
independent
behavioral
coach.
Some
jerks
don’t
know
they
are
jerks
–
and
no
one
wants
to
tell
them.
A
large
number
of
jerks
are
coachable
–
and
can
create
the
positive
energy
every
firm
needs.

Add
it
to
Annual
Reviews

Include
key
behaviors
for
both
firm
and
self-evaluation.
Add
a
quantitative
component
so
you
can
easily
track
it.

Train
Leaders
to
Intervene
–
Not
Avoid

Teach
leaders
how
to
spot
stealth
jerks
and
have
hard
conversations.
Most
bad
behavior
lingers
because
leaders
lack
the
skill
–
or
courage
–
to
call
it
out
early.

Tie
Culture
to
Compensation

Create
a
path
to
build
cultural
leadership
as
a
factor
in
comp
decisions
and
advancement.
If
someone
builds
a
high-performing,
jerk-free
team
–
reward
them
like
they
just
landed
an
amazing
client.

BTI
has
the
final
word
on
how
to
handle
lawyers
who
act
like
jerks
within
law
firms:
“Every
firm
has
jerks.
The
best
firms
don’t
let
them stay
jerks.
Or
they
don’t
let
them stay –
period.”

Jerks
Welcome.
Partners
Weigh
in
on
Firms
Who
Tolerate
Jerks
[Mad
Clientist
/
BTI
Consulting
Group]

---

Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to

email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.