The Current State of Civility in the Legal Profession

On May 14, 2020, clients of the litigation firm Boies Schiller Flexner filed a malpractice lawsuit against the law firm alleging that the attorneys in their dispute gave them bad advice and drove up costs through overly aggressive litigation tactics. As a result of these actions, the malpractice plaintiffs claim they were forced to settle as they could not afford to appeal.

According to an article published by the ABA Journal on May 18, 2020, Boies Schiller responded to the suit stating “This lawsuit is nothing more than a cynical attempt by a former client to avoid its obligation to pay the firm’s legal fees….the allegations are baseless and will not deter the firm from continuing its efforts to collect its fees.”

On today’s Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Craig Williams is joined by Dick Semerdjian, founding partner of Schwartz Semerdjian, and attorney Jayne Reardon, the executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, as they discuss the current state of civility in the courts, the use of overly aggressive litigation tactics, and how the legal profession is promoting civility through various methods.

Special thanks to our sponsor Blue J Legal.

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