Confronting the Bullying Lawyer: Harassment Rules, Professional Boundaries, and Psychological Strategies

Kendra Brodin | EsquireWell

Kendra Brodin is the Founder & CEO of EsquireWell, a leading lawyer well-being and performance consulting firm, providing education, strategic guidance, coaching, and online learning tools to help lawyers be happier, healthier, and more successful. Prior to founding her company, Kendra was Chief Attorney Development Officer at a large national law firm where she managed firm-wide lawyer training and development as well as well-being initiatives. Kendra is a frequent presenter, coach, and consultant for small, mid-sized, and large law firms, legal departments, and law schools, and she teaches a course called “Well-being and Professional Formation” at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. With a master’s degree in social work, a law degree, and over 20 years of professional experience in legal professional development and well-being, Kendra brings together the “people” side and the “business” side of the law as she guides legal organizations and their team members to thrive now and in the future.

Karen E. Ross | Tucker Ellis LLP

Karen serves as national and local counsel in asbestos, talc, silica, coal mine dust, and other exposure-related litigation in Ohio and throughout the United States. She has extensive experience defending product liability matters with a heightened expertise in industrial and consumer machinery and equipment. Karen works closely with client design and engineering teams and orchestrates and executes national defense strategies, including motion and discovery practice, as well as expert and fact witness development. Karen is well known for her deep knowledge of the product liability laws and evidentiary rules in several states and her ability to apply those standards to the facts presented. She also utilizes her discovery and litigation skills to defend health care facilities.

In her national practice, Karen leads teams of lawyers, which coalesce into a virtual law firm, providing clients with exemplary service and management. Karen’s patience, persistence, and problem-solving aptitude provide a strong foundation for every case she tackles. Before joining Tucker Ellis, Karen gained trial experience and honed her litigation and writing abilities as an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and Ninth District Court of Appeals staff attorney – skills that serve her well in representing clients in court, at deposition, and in motion practice. Community service has been a part of Karen’s life since childhood. In addition to her work as a mock trial coach for John Hay High School students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, she is an executive board member of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

James A. Doppke, Jr. | Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC

James A. Doppke, Jr. has concentrated his practice on professional responsibility issues for more than 25 years. He is currently a partner in the Chicago firm of Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke, LLC, representing clients in disciplinary cases, bar admissions matters, and legal ethics consultations.

Previously, Jim was Senior Counsel for the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, handling the investigation and prosecution of numerous attorney misconduct matters. He has also created and presented programs on legal ethics issues for local and national organizations.

Toni Jaeger Fine | Fordham Law School

Toni is Senior Counselor at Fordham Law School, where she served as assistant dean for nearly two decades. She is also principal of Jaeger-Fine consulting, which provides services to individuals, law firms, and other organizations. She speaks widely on various topics in the U.S. and abroad.

Toni is the author of many articles and several books, including Becoming a lawyer: Discovering and Defining Your Professional Persona; The U.S. Legal System: The Basics; and American Legal Systems: A Resource and Reference Guide. Her current work in progress is Law Firm Management for Next Gen Lawyers (with Amadeu Ribeiro).

Session I – Just How It Is? Civility in the Legal Profession 2025 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

• How we define civility, and how different views of it can be reconciled
• Bullying in the profession and the regulation of harassment
• Aggressive behavior in litigation
• Questionable conduct in other practice settings

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

Session II – Discovering and Defining Your Professional Persona | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

• Understanding the legal professional persona
• Foundations of a strong professional persona
• Self-management and inner professionalism
• Relationship management and external professionalism
• Ethics and the ABA model rules of professional conduct
• Sustaining your professional persona over time

Break | 3:10pm – 3:20pm

Session III – Workplace Bullying in the Legal Profession: Recognizing, Addressing, and Mitigating Its Impact | 3:20pm – 4:05pm

• Defining workplace bullying in legal contexts
• The cost of toxic culture: Organizational and financial impact
• A woman attorney’s perspective: Navigating gendered bullying in legal practice
• Bullying’s effect on teamwork, mentorship, and inclusion
• Ethical and legal risks of ignoring bullying behavior

Break | 4:05pm – 4:15pm

Session IV – Professionalism and Civility: Psychological Strategies for Managing Emotions Amid Aggressive Legal Tactics | 4:15pm – 5:15pm

• Why professionalism and civility matter in the face of provocation
• The psychology of emotional triggers in legal practice
• Applying the thought-emotion-action cycle to professional conduct
• Strategic emotional regulation tools for high-stakes advocacy
• How to create a personal emotional regulation plan