When noted litigator Paul T. Reid of Shook, Hardy & Bacon angered several female lawyers by objecting to a motion for continuance by pregnant attorney Christen E. Luikart of Murphy Anderson, his choice of phrasing didn’t do him any favors.

That’s why “watch your wording” is among the top lessons learned from the subsequent uproar, according to Jan L. Jacobowitz, legal ethics expert and professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law.