A landmark new study indicates bullying could be contributing to Illinois’ attorney shortage .

Of the 6,000 lawyers surveyed statewide, nearly 20% said they'd been bullied to the point of leaving the profession. Women, disabled and LGBTQ+ lawyers, people of color and younger lawyers were more likely to experience bullying by judges and other attorneys, including from colleagues within their firm, leading experts to urge courts and law firms to strengthen their policies around workplace culture.

Bloomington attorney John Kim was recently reappointed as chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, which conducted the study. Adrian Barr , managing attorney at Prairie State Legal Service's Bloomington Office, also served on the study's advisory committee.

Kim said the study was personal for the commission’s executive director Erika Harold , a former Miss America who used her platform to push back against bullying.

“That was how she got to law school,” Kim said in an interview for WGLT’s Sound Ideas.

Harold, a Central Illinois native from Champaign-Urbana, used her pageant winnings to attend Harvard Law School. It’s also personal for Kim. He's among a very small number of Asian lawyers practicing in Illinois and said he’s personally faced bullying and discrimination. The American Bar Association estimates 2% of all lawyers nationwide are of Asian descent.

“There are a lot of points of connection of why the commission felt it was the right time to embark on this study,” said Kim.

They believe it’s the first-ever statewide comprehensive study on bullying in the legal profession. In addition to the survey, focus groups gathered personal experiences with bullying within a narrow, one-year timeline.

“This is not just lawyers being zealous advocates,” Kim said. “There is a difference between a good representative for your client and belittling somebody.”

There is also a difference between bullying and harassment, which is more likely to have formalized policies and procedures in place. Federal and state law protects all workers from harassment when it’s directed at someone because of protected characteristics like gender, race, sexuality, disability or immigration status.

“Bullying can extend much broader. It doesn’t have to be one of these characteristics,” Kim said. “It exists in legal workplaces. It exists in the courthouses in the dynamic between the judge and the litigant. I happen to be a corporate lawyer. It exists in corporate law departments.”

The study defined bullying as the intent to intimidate, humiliate or control the actions of another person. Younger attorneys climbing the ladder were far more likely to experience this than seasoned ones. Kim said there’s a difference between a tough, competitive, detail-oriented work environment in which stripes must be earned — and one that drives people away from the profession. And in some cases, it’s likely bullies don’t know they’re doing it.

“One of the pieces of feedback we received anecdotally was this lightbulb moment of self-awareness for a number of folks,” Kim said. “That self-realization that I may have engaged in bullying behavior—it definitely was a point of introspection for myself and I think it’s applicable for all Illinois legal professionals to pause and see if I’ve gone over the line.”

One hopeful outcome of study is that it will start conversations. It also issues a call to action for legal workplaces to review their policies, which often, Kim said, are not broad enough to adequately address bullying.

They face a headwind. Just 1 in 5 lawyers who were bullied reported it to their supervisors. Of those who did report, half were dissatisfied with the outcome. Kim said respondents noted fear of retaliation and concerns that nothing would be done. Still, he’s optimistic about the future of the profession.

In his role as commission chair, Kim traveled up and down the state last year speaking with law students and early career attorneys about civility and professionalism. Rural districts have established incentive programs aimed at enticing new attorneys to practice in Central and Southern Illinois, where the need is especially dire . The state Supreme Court reinforces diversity, equity and inclusion in required continuing education, which could not only alleviate bullying but create a more welcoming environment in the courtroom and on the bench .

“When you’re in legal settings, the power dynamics and relationships are amplified, whether it’s a lawyer and the clients, a judge sitting on the bench, a more senior lawyer and a junior lawyer—the dynamics are more distinct,” said Kim. “The legal profession is one of advocacy. Sometimes folks can take that zealous advocacy to something that is no longer advocacy but ‘taking advantage of.’ If that advantage is premised on bias or prejudice, that’s where we start to see this behavior and conduct.”