Sounds like the start of a great lawyer joke. In reality, according to the tweeter “Josh,” also known as ArmyJew, the lawyer was already in an airport at a bar. Josh tweeted about it. According to him, the lawyer was “drunk” and loudly spilling what Josh perceived to be privileged client information.
The tweet screen-cap is below. I have obscured the name of the law firm and airport to do my part in not making it worse for the “drunk lawyer” while understanding that there is no way to use this tweet as a discussion vehicle without posting it. Josh has no personal or professionally identifying information on his own Twitter bio, so there is no danger of publicly shaming whoever the person is behind that account. I have also obscured Josh’s avatar because it appears to be a child. Josh has since deleted the tweet in question and all other tweets related to the topic, but not before continually defending his action against anyone who suggested it was ill advised.
Josh’s drunk lawyer tweet went moderately viral and engendered a range of responses from amusement and disbelief that anyone would have a problem with his tweet, to anger that an assumed lawyer would embarrass and potentially jeopardize the standing of a fellow member of the profession by including information that would make it easy for the law firm to figure out who it was. This is, of course, assuming anything in the tweet was true in whole or in part. We all know how Twitter is about truth and exaggeration.
Let’s assume for purposes of discussion that it is all true. Josh observed a drunk lawyer in an airport spilling what Josh believed to be client secrets. What happens next? What should happen next? What Josh thought should happen is self-evident. He tweeted about it and went on his way.
In my opinion, Josh was at a minimum, an asshole for tweeting specific firm information that could potentially identify the lawyer and subject him to shame and possible job consequences. There were other ways to go with this, the least of which would be for Josh to simply ignore it. Don’t tweet. Don’t potentially embarrass some random, drunk lawyer at the airport by putting him on Twitter blast. Do nothing and catch your flight. Mind your own business.
Being a tweeting asshole aside, should we mind our own business in such a situation? When we witness a legal colleague behaving in the way Josh describes? Many I have discussed this with think we should. We all have our own airport lives to deal with. The work day. Family. Our own personal problems. Maybe headed to a vacation with family. Who needs that added drama or potential confrontation?
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I totally get that. Can’t say that I would not feel the same in that moment. No one likes confrontation. We tend to project out the worst possible result. Much easier to just mind our own business. I’ve been told to mind my own and worse in my life with regards to approaching people who are struggling. That’s okay. The sun still rose the next day. Now and then someone actually wants the help and is receptive.
Would I do it in an airport? I know myself well enough to know I would at least go through the thought process of what to do. After that? I may not confront the person, but I’d like to think I would come up with an alternative way to handle it.
I am not a legal ethics guru, but it seems another possible issue is whether any professional responsibility obligations were potentially triggered. I will assume all jurisdictions have some form of the “Squeal Rule” mandating reporting of misconduct to the state bar, or in the alternative, an approved peer assistance program if the witnessed situation involves chemical dependence or some other form of mental health issues. The issue here is of course that Josh’s perception of what is going on probably does not amount to actual knowledge that a bar rule has been violated. Is there even enough information to make that report? More than one lawyer has commented that they were be concerned that if they intervened and became aware of more information, then a such responsibility could be triggered.
I reached out to Josh for comment. His responses are below. He was aware that they would be published in this column.
I don’t think there is any right or wrong answer for Josh’s particular situation. Every person will look at this based on their own life experience whether the choice is to ignore it, confront the lawyer, or even do some digging to contact the firms Employee Assistance Program and let them know. I know that seems extreme and even silly to some but that’s how my mind works. Examining all possible responses to possibly help someone.
Well, there is one absolutely wrong answer here. Don’t be an asshole and tweet about it. At a minimum, do no harm.
Brian Cuban (@bcuban) is The Addicted Lawyer. Brian is the author of the Amazon best-selling book, The Addicted Lawyer: Tales Of The Bar, Booze, Blow & Redemption (affiliate link). A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, he somehow made it through as an alcoholic then added cocaine to his résumé as a practicing attorney. He went into recovery April 8, 2007. He left the practice of law and now writes and speaks on recovery topics, not only for the legal profession, but on recovery in general. He can be reached at [email protected].