ILLINOIS (WCIA) — Within the Illinois legal profession, bullying affects female and minority lawyers at much higher rates.
On Oct. 1, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism released a study on the impact of bullying in the Illinois legal profession. With over 6,000 Illinois lawyers as respondents, they’re using the data to raise awareness for National Bullying Prevention Month.
Respondents were asked to list incidents of workplace bullying over a one-year period during 2022 and 2023, instead of over their entire career.
Effingham asks residents to help plan for the next 20 years 18% of survey respondents said they left a job practicing law because of bullying. That means almost 1,000 attorneys currently practicing in Illinois have left a career opportunity for this reason alone.
Overall, the responses found that while bullying impacts lawyers from all backgrounds, it disproportionately affects female attorneys, attorneys with disabilities, attorneys of color, younger attorneys and LGBTQ+ attorneys.
The commission is using the information gathered to come up with tactics to avoid bullying going forward.
“Bullying fundamentally conflicts with the principles of professionalism, civility, and integrity, which are foundational to a lawyer’s role as an officer of the legal system,” said Illinois Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford. “The Illinois Supreme Court is pleased that its Commission on Professionalism is at the vanguard of this movement to prevent bullying in the legal profession.”
U of I poll reveals majority of students say sexual misconduct is an issue on campus The study categorized bullying as inappropriate behavior intended to intimidate, humiliate or control the actions of another person, including verbal, nonverbal or physical acts.
Some of the statistics from the survey include:
- 38% of female lawyers were bullied, compared to 15% of male lawyers
- 38% of lawyers with an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity were bullied, compared to 23% of lawyers without that level of disability
- 29% of LGBTQ+ lawyers were verbally bullied related to their sexual orientation, compared to 3% of heterosexual lawyers
On top of that, younger attorneys were much more likely to experience bullying, with the probability of being bullied decreasing for each increasingly older age-group. Thirty-nine percent of lawyers aged 25 to 35 were bullied, while that number was just 12% for lawyers aged 66 to 75.
Supreme Court to decide whether Oklahoma must execute death row inmate Attorneys that reported being bullied suffered negative professional, emotional and physical effects as a result of the bullying. This includes a negative change in emotional well-being (54%), feeling less productive at work (39%) and a decline in physical health (20%).
In a breakdown of each race surveyed, the study found that:
- 36% of Middle Eastern/North African lawyers were bullied
- 35% of Black/African American lawyers were bullied
- 34% of Hispanic lawyers were bullied
- 32% of multiracial lawyers were bullied
- 28% of Asian American lawyers were bullied
- 23% of white lawyers were bullied
The report points out recommendations that workplaces, bar associations, law schools, government organizations and others can take to help prevent bullying going forward in the legal profession. These include:
- Legal workplaces should develop, implement, and enforce anti-bullying policies
- Legal workplaces should conduct training specific to their organization’s anti-bullying policies and procedures to equip lawyers with tools to respond
- Law schools should offer educational programs and training to law students on bullying prevention
Supreme Court declines Biden’s appeal in Texas emergency abortion case “While individual lawyers can take steps to address the bullying behavior they are being subjected to, it should not fall solely on their shoulders, as they often hold the least amount of power to bring about change,” said Chair of the Commission on Professionalism John K. Kim. “The prevention of workplace bullying ultimately rests on those with the authority to set and enforce policies in workplaces and courtrooms across Illinois.”
For access to the entire findings of this poll, visit the Commission on Professionalism’s website .
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