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A couple of Twitter “tweets” I’ve read recently referenced a lawyer disciplined for allowing “non-lawyers” to do something that only a licensed attorney should have done. I really dislike the “n-l” word, so I suggested in a reply “tweet” that surely we could all find more respectful words to use when referring to those who do not practice law for a living.

Please know that I understand lots of folks use the “n-l” word solely to help describe someone’s role in a law office. Unfortunately, I have also personally witnessed far too many others who use it in a derogatory manner.

My distaste for the word goes way back to before I earned my law degree, when I served as a legal secretary, paralegal and law office manager. I learned that more than a few attorneys treated support staff disrespectfully and like second class citizens. And all these years later, I’m still very alert to anything and everything that shows disrespect to our staff support members.

I’ve been out of law school for 21 years now, having practiced law and served as a law office management adviser for 20 of those years. Yet I still see evidence in some offices of demeaning and demoralizing behavior toward staff.

Because of my years as a staff member and because of those legal assistants I’ve had the pleasure to know and work beside since, I have the utmost respect and appreciation for these critical legal team members. They play an enormous role in the building and maintaining of lawyers’ and law offices’ success stories.

But the truth is that the old two tier structure remains alive and well in far too many law offices – attorneys who see themselves way up “there” on a pedestal and all the “n-ls” waaaaay down the ladder far beneath the lofty esquires. This form of arrogance and “I’m better than you” attitude wreak havoc in a multitude of ways, including greatly reducing office morale, productivity and stability.

When we are talked down to or otherwise treated as inferior, we know it – even if we don’t show it or complain about it. There’s absolutely no way that a law firm is getting maximum productivity and/or quality work out of employees looked down upon by those in authority. The most productive, solid, high quality teams are those made up of employees who know they are valued and appreciated by leadership and all supervisory personnel. It is made clear that every single employee plays a critical role – no matter how small – in the overall success of the firm or legal department.

Here’s why the “n-l” word irritates me so much. Do we call people non-architects, non-doctors, non-social workers, non-coaches, etc.? Of course not. So why in the world is the “n-l” word so frequently used? And, worst of all, it’s often legal personnel themselves who use it.

But there are so many other more respectful words from which we can choose – legal or law office staff members, team members, legal staff personnel, legal assistants, paralegals, support staff, and so forth. I ask you to join me in finding other words that are far more respectful when we are talking about folks who are not licensed to practice law. As a closing thought, think of the looks I’d get from the receptionist at an accountant’s office if I were to ask, “Are you the non-CPA?” Or if when I called my doctor’s office I said, “Hi, I’d like to speak with a non-doctor.”

Then again, it may be serve me well the next time I get a nasty reception when visiting a retail store or office, as I could respond, “Hello….is there a non-grouch here today with whom I could speak?!”

Former practicing lawyer Nancy Byerly Jones is a regular contributor to Lawyers USA, the author of “Easy Self-Audits for the Busy Law Office” and many other law office management publications. She serves as a management solutions consultant and mediator for attorneys and staff and also mediates family law and business cases.

For more information, please visit her website at www.nbjconsulting.com, her blog, www.lawbusinesstips.com, on Twitter @lawbusinesstips or at LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/in/nbjones. To suggest topic ideas for this column, please e-mail Nancy at nbj@nbjconsulting.com.

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