Call him mister and show a little respect

I was finalizing a brief yesterday and a memory came to me from an oral argument before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals that made me change something last minute.  In my brief, I had referred to an expert by last name only.  For instance, I called him “Jones” instead of Mr. Jones, as I was exploring the fallacies in his opinions.  But, just before I hit save and print, I remembered something.  The last time I was before the Fort Worth Court of Appeals, my opponent referred to a witness by last name only and one of the justices took offense.  He reprimanded the lawyer and told her to please be respectful and refer to the witness as Mr. _____.  So, I revised my brief just to avoid a situation like that or just in case I might inadvertently offend a justice.  That is not something you’ll learn in law school or that you will see in the Rules of Civil Procedure.  But, respect is something we should always consider in how we write or argue.

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