ABA House takes aim at bullying in the legal profession
More needs to be done to understand and respond to the pervasive problem of bullying in the legal profession, the ABA said during its annual meeting in Toronto.
The House of Delegates on Tuesday adopted Resolution 523, which urges legal workplaces, bar associations and tribunals to follow the lead of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism and conduct studies examining the prevalence and impact of bullying in the profession.
A study published by the commission in October 2024 surveyed 6,000 lawyers in Illinois and found that 24% had been bullied at work the previous year. Bullying in the Legal Profession: A Study of Illinois Lawyers’ Experiences and Recommendations for Change is thought to be one of the first wide-scale studies of its kind in the United States.
Brandon Wolff, a Young Lawyers Division delegate from Pennsylvania, told the House he has been involved with anti-bullying initiatives since he started an anti-violence group in high school. He then went on to work on other efforts to combat bullying among college students and elementary school students.
But Wolff noted bullying is not limited to children and young adults.
“It has been long prevalent in the [legal] profession,” he said. “That is why this resolution is needed to tackle bullying in the profession and promote cultural integrity, respect for the work and civility.”
Wolff added that “bullying not only reflects failures in workplace culture but also exacerbates the emotional, physical and professional toll already affecting attorneys.” He said working to eliminate it actually is in the business interest of law firms.
“Combating bullying will boost productivity in the workplace and will likely increase employee retention, enhance employee morale and lower rates of absenteeism,” he said.
Resolution 523 also calls on legal workplaces, bar associations and tribunals to establish policies, trainings and initiatives in employment and professional settings that do the following:
• Address and prevent bullying
• Promote a culture of respect and civility
• Provide examples of activities that reduce bullying
• Promote equity
• Foster respectful professional environments for judges and lawyers.
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“The time has come for the profession to move beyond the acceptance of bullying as the norm and take concrete steps toward fostering a professional environment for everyone and promoting a culture of respect and civility,” Wolff said.
The Young Lawyers Division and Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion were the primary sponsors of the resolution, which notes nothing in the measure is meant to supersede, modify or amend the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, ABA Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement or any other ABA lawyer and judicial regulatory policies. It also isn’t meant to establish a basis for civil liability.
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