One of the advantages of practicing in Connecticut is that we all pretty much know each other. This familiarity creates an etiquette that makes outrageous conduct unacceptable. Seeing and dealing with each other so often breeds a code of conduct that leavens our behavior. We know, as a judge friend once told me, “You have to remember, one day you’re the hammer; the next day you’re the nail.” Our awareness of that fact shapes the environment in which we practice.

Not everyone practices law this way. There are those for whom a scorched earth approach is the only way to practice, exuding rudeness and discourtesy, making sure never to give the slightest concession or extend even the most minor courtesy. It’s a tough way to live but, for some, it’s the only way. We see it in lawyers not from here and who don’t expect to return.