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UNDER THE GUN - LAW OFFICES NOT IMMUNE TO WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

By Kelly O. Scott

What do you call ten dead lawyers? A good start. We've all heard the jokes. Novelty shops do brisk business selling T-shirts printed with Shakespeare's famous quote from Henry VI: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

Obviously, these crude jokes and out-of-context quotes aren't means as a call for murderous attacks on attorneys. But events of the past few years prove that no place in invulnerable to threats or worse. Shooting incidents in brokerages, law offices and other service firms have proven that workplace violence is an issue we all need to take seriously.

Because legal administrators mange human resources, it is especially important that they be aware of this problem. They are usually responsible for initiating and maintaining policies and procedures to minimize the risks of violence in their law offices. Luckily, there is much they can do both to prevent workplace violence and to reduce their firms' liability in the event of an incident.

Battlefield work

According to data collected by the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities Surveillance System, from 1980 through 1989 nearly 7,600 U.S. workers were murdered in the workplace. Homicide was the leading cause of occupational death for women. In 1992, a survey conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics founds that 670,000 American workers were assaulted while at work or on duty. Frightening as they are, statisticians guess there numbers probably underestimate the magnitude of the problem, especially because they don't count threats and harassment in the workplace.

Despite these numbers, in the past most service firms considered themselves immune to the problem. In contrast to convenience stores, law offices don't face robbery attempts, which account for the majority of workplace murders. Unfortunately, service firms can be as prone to non-robbery related violence as any other business, and these incidents can range from harassment to homicide.

California's Department of Occupational Safety and Health divides workplace violence into three major types. In type I, the person perpetrating the violent act has no legitimate business relationship to the workplace. This is typical of robbery incidents. In Type II, the assailant is a current or former customer or client. In Type III incidents, the violent act is perpetrated by someone with employment-related involvement with the workplace — a current or former office worker, an employee's current or former lover, or some other person who has a dispute with someone in the workplace.

"A law office can be subject to Type III violence because that occurs everywhere," says Richard V. Denenberg, co-director of Workplace Solutions, a nonprofit organization that creates model violence prevention programs. "The greater risk, however, is probably Type II violence. Where you have clients, you have the possibility of disgruntled clients. Many are involved in tense situations — they may be suing somebody or involved in other litigation. There may be a lot at stake — money or the custody of children. You always have the possibility that someone who was unsuccessful in his or her legal cause may take it out on the law firm."

The butt of bad jokes

Denenberg says law offices may be especially at risk from angry clients because of societal attitudes toward lawyers. "There's a lot of resentment against them that's publicly encouraged," he says, "It's dangerous when there's a climate where no one likes lawyers anyway. It makes people feel justified threatening them."

The jokes and political attacks aimed at lawyers are a part of the problem, say Denenberg. "It's always irresponsible to stir up resentment against a readily definable group of people — such as a racial or professional group — because you never know what you're provoking in some people's minds."

One way law office administrators can help combat these attitudes and thus lessen the likelihood of threats or violence is by positively representing the legal industry in their communities and society at large. Service efforts, such as ALA's Community Challenge Weekend, can be a big part of these efforts.

In addition, it's important for administrators to take seriously any threats by clients. Both lawyers and staff should be trained to report and discuss problems with clients so they can be dealt with before they lead to violence.

Policies and prevention

Within their law offices, there is also much administrators can do to reduce the threat of Type III violence between co-workers and to reduce the likelihood of liability if an incident does occur. Kelly O. Scott, a partner with Ervin, Cohen & Jessup L.L.P., says it starts with a prevention policy in the employee handbook. "A good prevention policy will look a lot like a sexual harassment policy," she says. "It will disapprove of inappropriate conduct and warn employees of a zero-tolerance standard. It should also establish guidelines for reporting and investigating violations of the standards."

Both Scott and Denenberg advocate training as one of the best ways to protect your law office. "Employees should be trained about workplace violence and what causes it," Denenberg says. "They should be able to recognize somebody who is under stress."

Legal administrators can also help set up mechanisms in their offices to deal with workplace violence issues. In larger offices, especially, they can set up committees to evaluate and dal with threats or crisis. They can also research what resources are available to deal with problem employees or workplace conflict.

One of Workplace Solution's recommendations is to make sure clients or employees with grievances have alternatives for presenting them. "You don't want people to be desperate, to be at a dead end and feel helpless," says Denenberg. "People take desperate measures when they feel there's no happy alternative." He recommends mediation as a way to deal with difficult issues.

Another preventative measure is pre-employment screening as a way to weed out potentially dangerous people. Scott warns, however, that employers must be careful of the manner in which they do screening to make sure they comply with all federal and state restrictions.

Dealing with the problem

No matter what size law office they work for, administrators need to know how to deal with workplace violence. Luckily, there is much they can do to prevent it and protect the lawyers and staff members in their firms.

Make sure your office has appropriate policies and procedures in place. Provide training, especially to managers and supervisors. Most important, be aware of the issue and stay vigilant for warning signs in clients or employees and see what resources are available to help them resolve issues nonviolently.

A violent workplace incident can do tremendous damage to your law firm. Make sure you're ready to deal with this issue before it comes up.

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Kelly O. Scott is a partner and head of ECJ's Employment Law Department and serves as editor of ECJ's Employment Law Reporter, a monthly publication dealing with a variety of employment and labor law issues.

This article appeared in the February/March 2000 issue of ALA (Association of Legal Administrators), a nationwide publication, and is reprinted with permission here. Others seeking to reprint this article should contact ALA.

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This article is published by the law firm of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP. The topics discussed are intended to present an overview of current legal trends and should not be construed as representing advice on specific, individual matters, but rather as general commentary on the subject discussed. Articles are not a substitute for the sound advice of compentent legal counsel. Your questions and comments are always welcome. Articles may be reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2000 Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP.