Bullying is often bias in action. Bias is defined as a predisposition, or a preconceived opinion, which prevents a person from viewing others impartially. Many times bias stems from the personal traits of another person – gender, race, religion, physical disability, or sexual orientation – to name a few. When someone acts on bias, it often leads to the unfair treatment of another person and leads to bullying. Bullying involves the use of threats, insults, or force to frighten or harm another, or to cause them to act in a certain way. And unfortunately, from opposing counsel to high conflict clients, the legal system is full of bullies that are driven by their biases. So how do you deal with these bullies in the legal profession?
To combat the insidious effects of bias and the bullying behavior, it is important to first understand the reasons for a bully’s behavior. Armed with that knowledge, strategies can be developed to effectively deal with the bullies we encounter as legal professionals. To learn more about how bias leads to bullying and strategies for dealing with high conflict people in the legal profession please join N. Denise Asher as she discusses the link between bias & bullying, bias & high conflict people, the prevalence of bias & bullying in litigation and tips for dealing with bullies in the legal profession. Further issues covered include bias & bullying defined, common traits among bullies, common personality disorders, common personality traits, lack of self-awareness, bias & litigation, bullies as plaintiffs & defendants, evolving legal issues, bullies as counsel, bullies as clients, lending an E.A.R and strategies for dealing with bullies in the legal arena.
N. Denise Asher has been involved in the San Diego legal community for over 30 years. As a trial attorney, Denise represented injured consumers in cases involving medical malpractice, products liability, and personal injury. Having seen the tremendous benefit of alternative dispute resolution during her trial practice, Denise turned her focus to providing mediation services to the legal community in 2008, and has been a full-time mediator since that time. Denise serves as mediator in a wide range of civil litigation matters, with extensive subject matter expertise in personal injury, medical malpractice, and employment law cases. She also mediates pre-litigation disputes in an effort to help parties avoid the high cost, exposure, and uncertainty of litigation.