When Witnesses Attack: Dealing With Third-Party Harassment and Threats
by Karen McCall
Despite the adversarial nature of most legal proceedings, the parties involved normally conduct themselves in an appropriate and civil manner. However, as many of us know firsthand, there are exceptions to this rule. While threats or other alarming or dangerous behavior toward legal professionals are perhaps seen, or at least reported, more frequently in family law, no one in any practice area is immune.
Consider the uncooperative adverse witness who becomes hostile when served with a deposition subpoena; the unrepresented plaintiff who feels, justifiably or not, that calls are being ignored; or, the past client who seeks to avenge a perceived bad case outcome. In all of these scenarios, and many others, there are several strategies that can either prevent or intercept threatening behavior against law firm personnel.
When harassment or any other type of alarming behavior is shown, keeping a record of communications with the person takes on a new importance. Besides retaining written correspondence to and from the person, this can be accomplished by recording and transcribing every telephone call with the person, as well as memorializing your understanding of each phone call with a follow-up letter to the person, if deemed necessary. You may also feel the need to suspend telephone contact with the person altogether and communicate only in writing, should the individual’s calls become too frequent or otherwise disruptive. If a meeting with the person is scheduled, you might suggest that it be conducted at a local courthouse, for added security.
If the person shows up at the law office unannounced, security measures should be in place to handle any situation that may arise, and all firm personnel should be aware of what those measures are. For example, pre-selected code words or names may be utilized by the receptionist to alert other law firm employees to a potential threat; the “threat level” may be communicated via the particular code word or name chosen. In this way, law enforcement or other security personnel can be contacted, if necessary, in a timely manner, before the situation can escalate.
As in all other aspects of our profession, advance preparation in this area is key. If your firm has no safeguards in place, suggest them. If they are in place, employees should be reminded of them on a routine basis. The peace of mind will be worth it, whether or not they ever need to be used.