Alavi Anaipakos co-founder Demetrios Anaipakos recently talked with the national legal publication Law360 about the importance of civility in the legal profession.
While the article highlighted recent high-profile instances of “lawyers behaving badly” (think about the Alex Jones/Sandy Hook trial), the reporter found that attorneys “who are gracious, kind and professional may have the most impact.”
Demetrios has seen both sides of the civility equation during his years as a trial lawyer, from lawyers who are straightforward and honest yet fierce advocates for their clients (a hallmark of the practice at Alavi Anaipakos), to chest-thumping gorillas and everything in between.
He tells Law360 about a prior case when he was hospitalized shortly before a major hearing after getting bucked off a horse. Some attorneys would have resisted requests to move the hearing, but the opposing lawyer, Melissa Smith of Marshall’s Gillam & Smith, reached out to wish Demetrios a speedy recovery until he was back on his feet and regularly checked on him throughout the process.
“It’s a fundamental misperception that, somehow, in order to be a tough advocate, you have to be a tough person to deal with,” Demetrios told the publication. Read the whole story here.
