relationship building
Take Your Adversary to Lunch
By Kevin Weimer
Fellows LaBriola LLP
T
he Atlanta Bar Litigation Section hatched the then-unheard
of idea of taking one’s adversary to lunch (or breakfast,
drinks, miniature golf, etc.) in 1997—most likely after an
evening of heavy drinking. The goal of the Take Your Adversary to
Lunch Program is simple: to enhance civility and professionalism
in litigation, and the brains behind this ridiculous idea, litigator
Craig Goodrich, had only one agenda item: to “break bread
together.” Mr. Goodrich now is a full-time minister; and there’s
probably a good story behind that, but it is beyond the scope of
this article.
The Program provides a simple structure to encourage positive,
non-acrimonious interaction among current and/or former
adversaries. The rest is up to you. Mr. Goodrich felt that he had
come away from his lunch “feeling that an adversary had become,
if not a friend, a fellow colleague at the Bar.”
In this way, the Litigation Section hopes that the Program will foster
a collegial environment among attorneys that not only enriches the
practice of law but also benefits clients. We’ve all been involved
in a discovery dispute that took on an unnecessary momentum of
its own because of a nasty letter writing campaign and/or overly
aggressive motions which led to entrenched, polarized positions
on a dispute that quite likely could have been resolved through
some face-to-face interactions among the attorneys. Knowing the
attorney on the other side of your case (or at least having had a
pleasant lunch with her or him) discourages all sides from falling
into this trap and resorting to obnoxious personal behavior. It
simply is hard to send a nasty letter or file a mean-spirited motion
after talking with your adversary about your kids’ respective soccer
games or band recitals.
The Program humanizes the adversarial relationship, and you never
know when you actually might make a friend or, more importantly,
find a new source of business referrals. My partner Hank Fellows,
who is the consummate professional, has received numerous
referrals over the years from adversaries, and I am confident that
it is because of the civility with which he treats them. Taking an
adversary to lunch is one way to demonstrate that civility.
6
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
January/February 2011
[email protected]
At the time of the Program’s inception, then Chief Justice Robert
Benham opined that the Program is consistent with his belief that
“the practice of law is the practice of community healing.” Of the
three professions, law, medicine, and ministry, Justice Benham
notes, the medical profession is recognized for healing the body
and the ministry for healing the soul; but people sometimes lose
sight of the fact that the legal profession’s mandate is to heal the
community. There you have it: promoting civility, reducing
contentious and expensive discovery disputes, making friends,
getting business referrals, and helping the profession meet one
of its primary goals: healing the community. How could you
not take an adversary to lunch? Well, you don’t have to take my
word for it.
Testimonials from participants underscore the tangible benefits
of the Program. Charles M. Dalziel Jr. of Brock, Clay, Calhoun
& Rogers, LLC took Michael D. Hostetter of Nall & Miller, LLP
to lunch and writes:
I took an adversary from the past, Mike Hostetter, to Il Mulino
in 191 Peachtree for lunch. I make it a practice to have lunch
or at least a personal meeting with all opposing counsel, and
all counsel for parties with similar interests, very