Something a
bit lighter for a Friday even though it involves a serious judgment from Italy.
Lawyers have
to be robust in arguing their clients cases. They may use strong language to counter
questionable arguments. But they can get into trouble if they go beyond this
and launch insults at each other. So if I tell an opponent that his case is a
fantasy that is probably alright.
But if I tell them that they are dishonest
vipers who should burn in hell then I will probably get into trouble. And so I should.
It is even
worse to insult a client. In one Australian case a lawyer got into trouble for
calling his client a moron and it continued –
‘I can't deal with #### morons. Get out of my office’. He
used the word 'bullshit'. He also said to a client in the reception area ‘What
the #### are you doing here?... You don’t have the right to waste our ####ing
time. I have spent enough ####ing time on the ####ing file. You are a ####ing
moron. If you had signed the ####ing contract properly in the first place we
wouldn't be in the ####ing mess. #### off out of my reception area.’
All of this
has become a major issue in Italy
where a magistrate told a lawyer in court that he had no balls. The offending
magistrate was fined and this has been upheld by an appeal court. The offence
was not that the statement questioned the physical attributes of the lawyer but
because it suggested that he lacked – ‘determination, competence and
consistency – virtues which, rightly or wrongly, continue to be regarded as
suggestive of the male sex'.
In other words he lacked balls in the courage sense rather than
the biological sense.
It was the attack on the lawyers’ qualities as a person
rather than as a true male that was the problem.
Interestingly the lawyer and
the magistrate were cousins.
So there we have it. I doubt if the UK courts will
be called upon to decide any similar cases as we are far to civilized and
genteel to ever get involved in such uncouth beaviour - ahem!
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