Professionalism and civility as a litigation tactic? No, it should be a way of life, but Stan Graham posted a blog recently after a nice win that reminded me of how important it is to our clients and our cases to work cooperatively with opposing counsel. Many of us have experienced opposing counsel who feel that Rambo tactics will somehow cause us to capitulate, but ultimately it seems that these tactics have a boomerang effect. After all, human nature is such that we are unlikely to want to cooperate with a request for an extension from opposing counsel who have engaged in endless personal attacks and scorched earth tactics. Stan’s case reminds us that working cooperatively is more than just a better way, but also serves our clients’ best interests as we are then able to resolve issues without court intervention, streamline issues and ultimately the trial, and avoid unnecessary time and expense to our clients fighting over issues that could and should have been worked out between counsel. This is not to suggest that we ever act as less than zealous advocates, it is just a reminder of many of our own experiences where we can try a very difficult case and then enjoy dinner with opposing counsel afterwards. After all, our cases are about the facts, not about other counsel.
Paul M. Finamore, Esquire
Niles, Barton & Wilmer, LLP
Baltimore, Maryland
410-783-6349