So. Much. Cringe.
Nobody’s perfect — and these lawyers know it all too well. When dealing with high expectations from clients and senior colleagues, it can seem like mistakes are not an option. However, lawyers are human too and some have taken to Reddit to share their biggest blunders on the job. We’ve selected the top five howlers so you can learn from these mistakes or at least feel better about your own workplace gaffes.
1. Speak up!
The jargon and etiquette at court can be completely mystifying to the uninitiated. This was certainly the case for one solicitor who looked back on their days as an NQ appearing before a high court judge who was hearing applications in open court: “I started and [the Judge] shouted “I cannot hear you.” I, thinking he was deaf, started bellowing.”
As it turned out, this unlucky newbie had got the wrong end of the stick: “The usher ran up and said I had forgotten gown and as I was incorrectly attired the judge would not “hear me”. Cue sniggering from a dozen counsel behind.”
Mortifying.
2. Leading by example
Building a relationship of mutual respect with opposing counsel is vital in any line of legal work. This didn’t exactly go to plan for one Redditor…
They shared: “I sent an email to another firm describing their report as one of the worst I’d ever read and an example of everything not to do — I had meant to forward it to two trainees as an example of poor work. So, so much grovelling needed”
3. Mixup
The legal profession can be full of unintelligible acronyms. This proved problematic for a contributor who recalled making a less-than-perfect impression on their first day at a law firm:
“I pretended I knew what an SPA was (I did not) and was told to send off the latest version to a bidder. Which I did… along with every single transaction document, including accounts, enterprise values, and everything else a bidder SHOULD NEVER have access to, thinking SPA stood for “Seller Package”. Safe to say that was not a good look.”
Lesson learned: If you don’t know, just ask!
4. Sorry for your loss
When acting for individuals and private clients, sensitivity and tact are paramount. One solicitor’s most embarrassing moment came when acting for a bereaved family.
The poster simply wrote: “I sent the wrong will to the wrong dead person’s family as an enclosure as a trainee”
Eek.
5. Staying humble
One lawyer remembers inadvertently displaying a healthy ego to a client after pulling off some challenging work:
I sent a GIF of Connor McGregor doing that walk he does with “I may be the greatest lawyer of all time”, after keeping to this crazy deadline against all odds, it was meant to go jokingly to my colleague who had been assisting me on the matter but I sent it to an external client I had added on Teams.
Let’s hope they had a sense of humour…