John Edwards Isn’t the Only Lawyer with a Narcissism Problem
When former presidential candidate John Edwards admitted he had an affair with Rielle Hunter, the former trial lawyer released a statement acknowledging that he had become “increasingly egocentric and narcissistic” over the course of several election campaigns.
It’s a problem that plagues many lawyers, according to psychiatrist Richard Ratner.
Litigators in particular tend to “have generous helpings of narcissism,” he told the New Jersey Law Journal.
People with this trait “want to go out of their way to shine and make themselves look terrific,” Ratner says. It can be a boon to lawyers who need to work hard and be prepared for trial. But at its worst, the trait may drive some lawyers to win at any cost, even if it means misleading others or sometimes lying.
During contentious cases, lawyers need to pause and make sure they are maintaining perspective, he advises.
The author of the New Jersey Law Journal article is Arthur Burger, chair of the professional responsibility practice group of Jackson & Campbell in Washington, D.C. He says following Ratner’s advice can help lawyers avoid sanctions, see the strengths of an opponent’s case “or simply avoid looking silly.”
“Indeed, I recall instances where I have feverishly scrawled angry epithets in the margins of my copy of opposing counsel’s briefs, filled with righteous certainty that they have misstated the record or mischaracterized a court decision—only to review the record, or look up the cited case, and see that, at least to some degree, they had a valid point that needed a thoughtful answer,” he writes.
