So ignoble

This article in yesterday's Fulton County Daily Report perked my attention this morning. I read the headline and its subtext, which indicated that a judge had reprimanded an "Athens attorney" for a "verbal assault," and smiled as I guessed that the incident must surely have involved James W. Smith. Unfortunately, I was not surprised to read that Smith had engaged in conduct that Judge Sweat of Athens had characterized as "so ignoble as to bring the legal profession in disrepute.”

Mr. Smith operates out of a great piece of office space, smack dab in the middle of downtown Athens, GA. He has a nice hanging sign outside of the office, with words like "D.U.I.," "Personal Injury," and "Bankruptcy" printed prominently on the windows. For an Athens-residing layperson needing any of these legal services, Smith's office would seem like an obvious place to seek representation. I credit this, and not his reputation, for much of his business.

While in law school, I had heard stories about Smith's antics. A friend of mine who had interned in a judge's chambers told me stories about Smith shouting in court and vigorously objecting to minor points of evidence. While observing a hearing in that same judge's courtroom, I witnessed Smith shout his arguments at the judge in a manner that struck me as undiplomatic at best, and a huge strategic blunder at worse, given the amount of disfavor that he almost certainly brought onto himself. The thought among many who witnessed these antics was that Smith behaved in such a manner in order to impress his clients, to create the impression that he was a truly zealous advocate. And, most likely, his client really did feel that they were getting great representation. Any maybe they were: despite the judge's displeasure, it seemed that opposing counsel (an assistant district attorney in this case) was genuinely exasperated and intimidated.

That being said, it's not surprising to read about Judge Sweat's condemnation, in this instance, of Smith's behavior toward opposing counsel. According to the Daily Report article, Judge Sweat reprimanded Smith for making patronizing comments about opposing counsel's lapel pin, which represented his son's death while serving in the U.S. military. While Smith apparently did not make any overtly negative comments, he asked counsel about the pin amidst a contentious dispute over the propriety of certain deposition testimony. Then, at a second deposition, after counsel asked Smith's client about Smith's representation of the client in past matters, the following exchange took place:

Mr. Smith: Why don't you go jump in a lake, Drew? Why don't you go over
there—Where's your pin today?

Mr. Marshall: I'll be serving you with—

Mr. Smith: Where's your pin today?

Mr. Marshall: Get out of my office.

Mr. Smith: Don't ever have another deposition set up here. Don't you
hit me.

Mr. Marshall: I'm not going to hit you.

Mr. Smith: We got witnesses.

Mr. Marshall: Don't disrespect my
son.

While Smith's comments weren't overtly disrespectful, his reference to an intensely personal matter in the context of a contentious dispute was almost certainly intended to intimidate or upset opposing counsel. It is no wonder, then, that Judge Sweat reprimanded Smith. To be sure, the judge may have given Smith less leeway than he would have with another attorney, given Smith's reputation as a difficult and borderline-disrespectful presence in the court room. If anything, the scenario illustrates the importance of a lawyer's good reputation within the legal community: while an obnoxious presentation may impress your clients, it will undermine your ability to generate good will and political capital among judges and fellow members of the bar. And, more than that, it will perpetuate the (sometimes deserved) image of attorneys as cut-throat and conniving capitalists who will stomp on the feelings of others all for the sake of victory.