Litigation costs money, whether for staffing, filing fees, trial preparation or sanctions imposed for uncivil conduct toward the court or opposing counsel.
Yes, incivility costs money. Sanctions or disbarment are the obvious consequences. Incivility also costs time, which always equals money. The more uncooperative attorneys are, the more litigation costs are generated. Among all the promotional LinkedIn accolades lawyers post, it would be cool to have a quantified "I avoided unnecessary legal arguments and saved my client money" banner.
"Here is what Code of Civil Procedure section 583.130 says: 'It is the policy of the state that a plaintiff shall proceed with reasonable diligence in the prosecution of an action but that all parties shall cooperate in bringing the action to trial or other disposition.' That is not complicated language. No jury instruction defining any of its terms would be necessary if we were submitting it to a panel of non-lawyers. The policy of the state is that the parties to a lawsuit 'shall cooperate.' Period. Full stop." That is how Appellate Justice William Bedsworth (Ret.) opened Lasalle v. Vogel in 2019. The underlying matter involved an appellate decision overturning a default judgment after plaintiff's counsel opposed a request to vacate the default. As stated in Lasalle, "Dignity, courtesy, and integrity were conspicuously lacking" in the choice to pursue a fast default and oppose the requested relief from the default. As the default judgment was vacated three years later, the costs of protracted litigation were probably greater than an agreement to vacate the default and proceed on the merits.
The Lasalle opinion chastised the system: "[P]ractitioners have become inured to this kind of practice. They have heard the mantra so often unthinkingly repeated that, 'This is a business,' that they have lost sight of the fact that the practice of law is not a business. It is a profession. And those who practice it carry a concomitantly greater responsibility than businesspeople."
Costly litigation due to delay is one cost of incivility. Whether we are paid by private clients, public entities, insurance carriers or others, a lack of cooperation leads directly to more costs. "Hey, can I have those documents? Sure!" achieves a different result than a request to produce 85 categories of documents followed by objections, meet-and-confer discussions, motions for sanctions and then finally a 28,746-page document dump.
The cost of incivility can be much more direct. In late 2019, an attorney was sanctioned roughly $17,000 for their emails to opposing counsel, which were couched as "zealous advocacy" but contained homophobic references and abhorrent sexual references. The actions eventually led to state bar discipline four years later. The public discipline procedure costs were nearly $4,000. All these costs for 17 ill-advised emails over four days.
More recently, in June 2026, an attorney admitted to the California bar in 2021 was disbarred for their short but long history of using profanity in court filings, using abusive language in court filings and accusing multiple judges in various courts and departments of racism. The amount of money spent on law school alone suggests that such actions are a terrible way to obtain a return on the investment.
As an act of civility, it should be noted that within the two disciplinary actions mentioned, there are references to deeply personal issues. Our profession also needs to recognize the stresses accompanying the practice of law and that everyone can have a "bad day," no matter how long that day may be.
That leads to another consideration. While crossing the incivility line may negatively affect a person's bottom line, practicing civility within our profession provides protection. Professionals and amateurs in high-risk sports share a common accessory: a helmet. Muscles, skill, strategy or athleticism mean little if a brain injury prevents the participant from continuing. Consider civility to be a helmet for your law practice. Whereas actual helmets keep the external dangers away, civility is the helmet that prevents the internal dangers from escaping onto the page, the email, the text or even the long-forgotten phone call. Civility is Dr. Bruce Banner keeping the "Hulk Smash" thoughts from becoming Exhibit "A" to a motion for sanctions or a disciplinary proceeding.
In closing, civility provides a measure of protection for both lawyers and their clients. Cooperation among peers saves money. Each county bar association provides civility guidelines. Each county superior court has local rules addressing cooperation and civility. The California attorney oath requires adherence to dignity, courtesy and integrity. By reviewing these tools and striving for better interaction with opposing counsel, an attorney can find a way toward resolution without too much monetary or mental expense.
California appellate decisions criticizing incivility provide a consistent reminder: we all have to get along and play nice in the sandbox. Cooperation plays better in the legal profession and the lawyer's pocketbook.