The State Bar Association of North Dakota Fall 2015 Gavel Magazine | Page 11

• Whether respondent had ever received
threats or been the victim of violence
• Types of threats and/or violence
• Number of threats received
• Whether threats and/or violence occurred
while employed in public or private
practice
• Locations where threats occurred
• Association between threats and assaults
• Relationship with perpetrator
• Whether incidents were reported to the
police
• When threat and/or violence last occurred
• Change in conduct
• Demographic information
For the purposes of the Survey, a “threat” was
defined as: “A written or verbal intention to
physically hurt or punish another, and/or a
written or verbal indication of impending
physical danger or harm.” In October
2014, the North Dakota legal profession
consisted of 1,663 in-state attorneys. The
Survey received a total of 243 responses,
representing 14.6 percent of all registered
in-state attorneys. The following summarizes
the responses of attorneys of the North
Dakota legal profession who responded that
they have been the recipients of violence
and/or threats of violence.

Threats and Acts
of Physical Violence

• Oral threat of assault and assaulted while
trying to protect my client from physical
attack.
• [An upset client] grabbed my neck and
squeezed my neck and shoulders, but let
go almost immediately. Left my office
and slammed my office door behind her.
• I was hit on the head once by a defendant
– she suffered from mental illness.
• A criminal defendant … got angry
during a court proceeding and threw a
microphone during a court hearing, and
it struck my arm.
• Client threatened to kill me and my family.
• Somebody tried to kill me with a knife . . .
outside my law office….
• Opposing party lunged at me right after a

•
•

•

•

hearing….
[S]cissor[s] held up to face coupled with
threatening words….
I have been assaulted by individuals at
administrative hearings, one of whom
literally jumped over a table and
attempted to choke me while calling me
an “agent of the Devil.”
[A] criminal defendant pulled a handgun
out of his pants after a guilty verdict and
attempted to shoot me, the sheriff, and
the jury.
[A]n opposing male spouse or somebody
under his direction shot a gun at my
buildings and hit a different window on
four different occasions throughout a
1-1/2 year divorce action.
ndlaw.com

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I N Y O U R O W N B A C K YA R D

The Survey’s primary question asked
attorneys if, while serving as a member of
the legal profession, they had ever been the
recipient of a threat or had been the victim
of a violent act. Of the 243 responses to
this question, 113 (46.5 percent) of the
respondents reported that they had been
threatened and/or physically assaulted at
least once.

Put our expertise to work for your clients. Our

Respondents to the Survey provided more
than 100 examples of work-related threats
and violence perpetrated against them.
Some examples of the more egregious threats
and violence reported by members of the
North Dakota legal profession include:

O U R L AW Y E R S

• A gun was pointed at me at a mediation.
• Another child beat my child with a
crowbar because I prosecuted that
child’s mom for a bad check.

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FALL 2015

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