Teacher, he was mean to me

Dear Editor:

I read with surprise your front page article on the recent policing of civility among attorneys (“Lawyer is Disciplined for Sarcasm,” VLW, Nov. 2, 2015).  I am not familiar with the attorney who was reprimanded, but as a veteran trial attorney, the offending remarks struck me as fairly innocuous.  Personal injury litigation is not for the faint of heart.  I doubt it would be expedient for the Virginia State Bar to supervise the verbal sparring of our inherently adversarial profession – and can only imagine the influx of tattling in the wake of your article, particularly by those possessing a certain palate of soured grapes.  But if the VSB does wish to embark on this slippery endeavor, then I (and undoubtedly many others) have a list of shocking, disgusting, inappropriate, vile and yes, sarcastic remarks by plaintiffs’ attorneys (and several judges) that would make a sailor blush.

I submit sarcasm is the stuff of child’s play, comparatively speaking.  “Virginia gentleman” has long since been a misnomer in the boxing arena of civil litigation across this commonwealth.

Eone Moore Beck
Henrico County