Seeking brutally honest advice: should I file a bar complaint against opposing counsel for his aggressive behavior?
Throwaway account because this would be immediately identifiable to anyone involved.
I’m in-house counsel and was the client at an arbitration with outside counsel. Before the hearing even started, OC got into an argument with my attorney over seating. OC ripped a charger out of the wall and threw it across the room. It wasn’t thrown directly at me, but it was in my direction. My attorney and I both immediately told him that throwing objects was unacceptable.
OC then told me to “get your ass around the table.” I told him he couldn’t speak to me that way, and he responded that he’d speak to me however he wanted. I told him I intended to file a bar complaint.
OC immediately pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of me. He later claimed I had accused him of throwing the charger at me, so he was documenting the situation to “defend” himself. My attorney and I raised the entire incident on the record with the arbitrator, who did nothing.
OC told the arbitrator that I was smiling in the photos, so I couldn’t have been upset. I think many of you will understand that I smiled because I was uncomfortable and trying to defuse the situation with a man who was behaving aggressively towards me.
I’ve been practicing for over a decade and have never experienced anything remotely like this. Although I knew who he was, I’d never spoken to or interacted with OC before that day.
It’s been a few weeks, and I’m still disturbed by the encounter, particularly that he photographed me. I still want to file a bar complaint, but I’m not licensed in that state and, frankly, I’m intimidated. I also expect he’ll personally attack me in any response, which would be distressing.
I’m genuinely looking for honest advice. Am I overreacting, or should I follow through with filing a bar complaint?