Legal Definitions - sharp practice

Sharp practice refers to actions taken by a legal professional that, while not necessarily illegal, push the boundaries of accepted ethical standards and professional conduct. It involves using aggressive or clever tactics that exploit technicalities, loopholes, or procedural rules to gain an advantage, often at the expense of fairness or the spirit of the law. These actions can be seen as unfair, misleading, or overly aggressive, even if they don't constitute a direct violation of a specific law or rule.

While some degree of strategic maneuvering is expected in legal practice, engaging in frequent or egregious sharp practices can lead to criticism, sanctions from a judge, or damage to a lawyer's professional reputation.

• Example 1: Excessive Discovery Requests

  In a complex business dispute, a lawyer representing one party files an unusually high volume of highly detailed and overlapping requests for documents and written questions (interrogatories) to the opposing side. While each individual request might be technically permissible under discovery rules, the sheer quantity and redundancy are designed to overwhelm the opposing party, significantly increase their legal costs, and potentially pressure them into a settlement simply to avoid the burden of responding.

  How it illustrates sharp practice: The lawyer isn't breaking any specific rule about discovery limits, but they are using the discovery process in an overly aggressive and burdensome manner, exploiting the system to create an unfair advantage rather than genuinely seeking relevant information efficiently.

• Example 2: Strategic Scheduling of Hearings

  A lawyer schedules a critical court hearing or deposition for a date and time when they know, through publicly available information or prior communication, that the opposing counsel has a pre-existing, unavoidable commitment (e.g., another court appearance in a different jurisdiction). The lawyer does not inform the court or opposing counsel of this conflict, hoping the opposing counsel will be unable to attend or will be forced to seek a last-minute postponement, potentially disrupting their preparation or creating an unfavorable impression with the judge.

  How it illustrates sharp practice: The lawyer isn't lying to the court or violating a direct rule about scheduling. However, they are deliberately exploiting a known conflict to create a procedural disadvantage for the other side, going against the spirit of professional courtesy and fair play in litigation.

• Example 3: Misleading Presentation of Information

  During a negotiation for a personal injury settlement, a lawyer presents a series of medical bills and reports to the insurance company that are all technically legitimate. However, the lawyer deliberately arranges and emphasizes certain minor, less relevant expenses and treatments, while downplaying more significant factors, to create an inflated perception of the total damages without actually fabricating any information. The goal is to make the claim appear more severe than it might be, without outright misrepresentation.

  How it illustrates sharp practice: The lawyer is not submitting false documents or committing fraud. Instead, they are using selective emphasis and strategic presentation of truthful information to create a misleading impression and gain a negotiating advantage, pushing the boundaries of ethical disclosure in settlement discussions.