How to Stop Workplace Bullying Before it Damages Your Firm

Workplace bullying in the legal profession is a systemic problem that threatens attorney well-being, firm culture, and institutional integrity, as Andrew Regal writes for Attorney at Work.

The profession demands high standards and rigorous accountability, but enforcing those values can lead to targeted misconduct that serves no legitimate business purpose. Law firms that ignore this distinction do so at considerable cost to the organization and its reputation.

The legal profession’s hierarchical structure creates conditions where abusive behavior flows downward, from judges to attorneys, from senior partners to associates, and from attorneys to support staff.

Survey data from the International Bar Association indicates that 57% of bullying incidents go unreported, largely due to fear of retaliation. More than 60% of targets ultimately leave workplaces that fail to respond.

Despite overwhelming public support for legislative reform (the Workplace Bullying Institute’s 2024 national survey found 87% of respondents favor new legal protections), the United States is without comprehensive statutory protections.

Suffolk University Law Professor David Yamada’s Healthy Workplace Bill, which defines abusive conduct by a reasonable-person standard, has been considered in more than 30 states but has yet to achieve broad enactment.

Bullying in legal settings typically manifests as patterns rather than isolated incidents. They include public humiliation framed as mentorship, systematic exclusion, and excessive criticism untethered from performance improvement.

The American Bar Association adopted Resolution 523 in August 2025, encouraging legal organizations to study and address the problem. Firms can act by adopting clear codes of conduct and tying behavioral standards to compensation and advancement decisions.

Managing partners should treat bullying as an institutional risk with potential liability exposure and talent attrition costs. Behavior standards must apply uniformly, including to high-billing partners, and are best enforced through transparent, documented processes that mirror the profession’s existing sexual harassment frameworks.