Read the full “Top Ten Passive-Aggressive Phrases Used in Communicating With Opposing Counsel — Translated!” in the March issue of NWLawyer!
Though our first instinct may be to communicate with flaming arrows and war chants, our professional responsibility requires us to correspond with opposing counsel in a polite and courteous manner. Accordingly, some attorneys have spent careers honing their skills in the fine art of passive-aggressive communication, which I like to think of as “being mean in a nice way.” Below are 5 of the most popular passive-aggressive phrases I have seen used (and, admittedly, have on occasion used myself) in correspondence between attorneys — translated for those new to the craft.
1. “Thank you for your letter.”
Translation: “Your three pages of text, sprinkled with a few legal citations, do not change my client’s position. If they did, I would have picked up the phone instead of responding in writing.”
2. “In my ____ years of practicing law…”
Translation: “I have more experience than you and I am hoping that intimidates you.”
3. “I am not aware of any legal authority supporting your position. If you have any such authority, please forward it to me.”
Translation: “I am calling your bluff. Also, I am too lazy to do the legal research myself to find out whether your position is correct.”
4. “You make an interesting/creative/thoughtful argument.”
Translation: “No judge would buy that argument and we both know it.”
5. “Please let me know if I understand your position correctly.”
Translation: “By paraphrasing your position, I am putting words in your mouth that I plan to use against you later. This is my attempt to nail you down on those words.”
Alternate Translation: “I am a smart lawyer who deals with complicated issues every day, and your argument is so convoluted that even I need help making sense of it.”
Want more? Read the full “Top Ten Passive-Aggressive Phrases Used in Communicating With Opposing Counsel — Translated!” in the March issue of NWLawyer!
Allison Peryea. Allison is a an associate with Leahy McLean Fjelstad, located in Kirkland, which provides general counsel services to community associations. She can be reached at allison.peryea@leahyps.com.
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