Bullying in the Legal Profession: An Empirical Examination and Implications for DEI

The CPR National Task Force on Diversity in ADR invites the entire ADR community to this special presentation, to be held on Zoom.

Stephanie Scharf and Roberta Liebenberg, both principals at The Red Bee Group and partners of law firms, will discuss their research of bullying among lawyers in the profession of law.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required - please see below for registration details.

Event Description
Bullying of lawyers is a long-known but little-discussed problem that exists in many practice settings. Bullying can negatively impact the quality of a lawyer’s day-to day practice, emotional well-being, and physical health.  Bullying impedes an employer's ability to create effective and collegial work teams, retain talented lawyers, and maintain a culture that is inclusive and supportive. 

To address the impact of bullying and find solutions to the problem, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism sponsored a systematic study based on extensive quantitative and qualitative responses from more than 6,000 Illinois lawyers.   The study spanned lawyers in all practice settings — law firms, corporate law departments, government, public interest and not-for-profit organizations, and the judiciary. Participants were heterogeneous across many dimensions, including gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, disability status, age, and type of workplace.  The research also provides data-driven recommended best practices for leaders, legal employers, and individuals,  to take to eliminate bullying and its pernicious effects.

This first-of-its kind study offers myriad insights about the role of workplace culture and the impact of bullying on individual lawyers and the profession. One finding of particular concern: although bullying impacts lawyers from all backgrounds, bullying disproportionately impacts female attorneys, attorneys with disabilities, attorneys of color, younger attorneys, and LGBTQ+ attorneys.  Based on extensive analyses, the research speaks to specific best practices for leaders and employers to take to ameliorate bullying and its pernicious effects.

Come hear study authors Stephanie Scharf and Roberta Liebenberg discuss their empirical work and their recommended best practices to combat bullying. With diversity initiatives under attack in higher education, and corporate and legal environments, it remains uncontroversial that workplaces should be inclusive and welcoming to all, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity and expression and abilities. We look forward to a frank discussion about what bullying looks like in the legal profession and how it can be addressed.

Registration
Advance registration is required.

CPR Institute members are asked to log in to this website using their professional e-mail address, then select the Members ticket.

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Contact Micah Seigel at mseigel@cpradr.org for any questions regarding registering or attending this event.