Bullying isn't just a problem for children in the playground or in cyberspace. For adults, bullying in the workplace can be a very real issue – and law firms are no exception.

The findings of a Legal Week survey show that 91% of respondents believe workplace bullying is an issue that many firms still need to address more vigorously.

This is despite the fact that legislation has done much to improve the position: harassment or discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, disability or sexual orientation are all proscribed by the Equality Act 2010. And long before that, most firms were already putting enormous effort into diversity training, more recently moving into training for unconscious bias. But there is a lack of clarity as to what constitutes bullying beyond these most obvious criteria.

Our survey shows that verbal abuse, unfair treatment, exclusion or denial of promotion and training are the most prominent forms of bullying experienced in the workplace by lawyers – far ahead of homophobia, racial/religious discrimination or sexual harassment.

Normally widely revered for its precise interpretation of such thorny issues, English law remains stubbornly silent on the subject. "There is no legal definition of bullying; it's a very difficult thing to define," explains Anthony Fincham, head of employment at CMS Cameron McKenna. "One person's bullying is another's smack of firm management. A bit like an elephant: you recognise it when you see it."

And just like an elephant, those who have witnessed or experienced bullying never forget it: lives are blighted, careers derailed and suffering caused (see below).

A majority (55%) of respondents say they have personally experienced bullying at work at some point, although only 10% state that it has happened often. Meanwhile, 78% have witnessed workplace bullying of others, with 10% seeing it frequently.

Beyond statutory requirements, for more than half of respondents (53%) considerable doubt exists as to whether firms are taking bullying seriously enough, while a quarter (25%) suggest that their firm has no proper policy in place for combatting bullying. 

Attitudes can waver uncomfortably between condemning it in the strongest possible terms and regarding it as something that only happens at other firms: not us – never.

From policy to practice
Talk to those in charge and their policy response is unambiguous. "Any good employer, particularly law firms, will have a very robust policy around bullying," says Moira Slape (pictured, right), HR director at Eversheds.

"In addressing bullying in the workplace, it is important to have clear and robust policies to deal with any complaints of behaviour that could be considered bullying or harassment," adds DLA Piper HR director Carol Ashton.

Certainly every firm interviewed for this article has very well-defined policies and procedures of which they are justly proud. "Our firm is committed to eliminating discrimination and promoting equality and diversity in all of its policies, practices and procedures," says Travers Smith diversity partner Sian Keall. "All forms of discrimination, victimisation and harassment are against the firm's policy. Acts of discrimination or harassment are not tolerated and will result in disciplinary action, including termination of services where appropriate."

Charlie Keeling, HR director at Clyde & Co, adds: "If the bullying incidents are severe we can move straight to termination. Fortunately, we have not had to do that during my time here."

To deal with bullying, Norton Rose Fulbright follows "two routes", explains HR director for EMEA Lakhbir Purewal: formal and informal. "We meet with the employee raising the concern and agree on how they wish to take the matter forward. The informal route will ordinarily involve a discussion with the alleged perpetrator to help them understand how their conduct may be affecting the employee. The formal route will involve the appointment of an independent investigator to carry out a full investigation into the complaint and provide recommendations as to the most appropriate way to resolve the matter."

Susan Bright, regional managing partner for the UK and Africa at Hogan Lovells, says: "Hogan Lovells is committed to supporting the right of all our people to work in a respectful and inclusive environment free from harassment, victimisation and discrimination. We have a zero-tolerance dignity at work policy."

Successive attempts were made between 1996 and 2002 to enshrine such best practice into English law via a Dignity at Work Bill, designed to counteract bullying at work. They failed. Sweden remains the only EU country with specific anti-bullying legislation, although France has a law against 'moral harassment', while Australia introduced specific workplace bullying laws last year.

In the UK, much therefore rests not just on the effective policies of individual firms, but also on how these are then applied according to circumstance – and at firms' discretion. However stringent a policy or draconian a sanction may appear, the reality can be more nuanced, as Fincham explains: "Every law firm has a policy; every law firm will say it is zero-tolerant of bullying and it will encourage reporting by the victim or by someone observing it. We all have written procedures for dealing with bullying, which are quite robust. It's a difficult one in practice where you've got partners who are big rainmakers. A complaint against such a person will raise sensitive issues and competing considerations, notwithstanding law firms priding themselves in taking any complaint seriously."

Pinsent Masons' HR director, Jonathan Bond, responds: "We measure partners. Their remuneration depends on the performance of a scorecard – one element of which is about people. We have had cases where partners' bonuses haven't been paid or have been reduced because of unhelpful behaviour. It has hit people in the pay packet." 

Louise Hadland, HR director at Shoosmiths, adds: "Bullying concerns will be sympathetically heard and dealt with appropriately no matter how senior the 'bully' concerned."

• The last taboo? Why firms need to accept that bullying is still a problem

Recognising the signs
As the scope and significance of law firm HR teams have grown so has their desire to track the bullying problem. It would be nice to think that increased vigilance has been equally matched by greater detection. But monitoring is difficult. "Partners are trained to look for the warning signs," says Bond. "A dip in performance or changes in behaviour: becoming quiet and withdrawn, sickness, absence."

Reinforced by a raft of policies, effective monitoring is also predicated on the assumption that bullying is automatically reported. Often it is not, creeping instead below the radar. "We recognise that it can be very difficult to talk to HR and we deal with people sensitively to encourage them to come forward," adds Bond.

Ashurst's global HR director, Sasha Hardman, argues: "People are much more likely now to stand up and say that bullying behaviour is not acceptable. In general they feel much more empowered to say something now than used to be the case. It is important that when these issues are raised they are dealt with quickly otherwise there is a risk that you'll lose talent.

"I'd be surprised if there are a lot of people in law firms saying they don't feel able to say something about inappropriate behaviour they experience. Organisations are letting their staff down if there isn't a culture where they feel they can come and say something."

In fact, more than a third of survey respondents (39%) would be fearful of the ramifications of reporting any bullying and the potential damage to their career. "We know that many people would be afraid to raise their heads above the parapet, so our preferred modus is prevention rather than cure," says Keeling. "Each of our practice areas has a partner, designated as the HR partner. They also have a member of my team nominated as their HR business partner (HRBP). The HR partner and the HRBP meet frequently; they discuss any suspicion of someone being bullied or of individuals who may demonstrate some bullying traits."

Keall explains the Travers approach: "We have worked hard to remove the barriers that staff can face when reporting bullying and harassment. We have established employee network groups, which act as points of contact for any individual who wishes to discuss any inappropriate behaviour or has witnessed or experienced an instance of bullying or harassment."

Exit interviews are standard practice, revealing – sometimes for the first time and therefore too late – that bullying may have contributed to the reasons for someone leaving. "We dig quite deep in exit interviews and then talk to other associates," says Bond.

"Increasingly people come and talk about these things before it gets too far. It doesn't often get to the exit interview stage and you don't already know about it and have taken some action," adds Hardman.

Partner-on-partner bullying
In the hierarchical structure of law firms, there is a widespread assumption that acts of bullying are committed almost entirely by partners on associates, trainees or support staff in their team. This is false. While 77% of survey respondents had witnessed/experienced partners bullying trainees or associates (and 63% partners on support staff), 53% had also seen/experienced the same behaviour between partners.

Partner-on-partner bullying is the least reported type, according to HR professionals. As perhaps the biggest elephant in the room, it was a topic they preferred to address off the record. "It's one of the most challenging issues because at that level partners are typically very reluctant to make complaints against one of their colleagues, particularly if they are new to partnership," reveals one HR director.

In terms of what can be done to improve the position, Fincham (pictured) argues: "Whereas many staff handbooks will include bullying as a ground for summary dismissal, law firm partnership or members' agreements don't. I think they should. Although there could be difficulties relying on such a clause it would reinforce the zero-tolerance message and send a powerful message to partners with bullying tendencies."

Bullying may be intentional or unintentional. "It manifests itself in so many different ways," explains Slape. "If you have someone who is very sensitive and takes things the wrong way, they can interpret something as bullying, whereas someone else who is thick-skinned will say 'what are you talking about?'"

So when does banter become bullying? "At the point where that banter becomes unfriendly," suggests Slape. "Or if it's specifically targeted at one person in a team – if someone's face doesn't fit or there is favouritism. Banter to bullying is where favouritism takes over. Somebody being isolated, struggling in their job or under extreme pressure. It just takes one thing for banter to become unfriendly banter."

One HR director argues that the enormous pressure of work inevitably leads to "mini explosions", causing "inappropriate language, which I'm not sure is bullying". Others believe that the primary triggers of bullying are most often stress-related.

Clydes runs lunchtime sessions for all staff "to look at the triggers of bullying", explains Keeling. "Often these are stress-related and we try to raise awareness of the causes and preventative tactics we can employ."

Bullying will never disappear entirely: it is an unfortunate part of human behaviour. But lawyers believe things are improving. One partner at a City firm says: "I think law firms are generally less tolerant of individuals displaying that kind of bullying behaviour – even people who are supposedly stars. In the past, sometimes that kind of behaviour would get overlooked, particularly if they were high-billing partners. I'm talking mainly about partners on associates, but, years ago, partners would properly have a go at their own colleagues and associates in front of opposing counsel or clients. Star partners were put up with more."

In making the case for minimising its impact, Hadland neatly combines the moral and commercial imperative: "If bullying is rife in an organisation people will not work together. Not only is workplace bullying an anathema to 21st century people management – it simply doesn't make business sense."

• Click here to view the Big Question survey results

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'It's almost a badge of honour putting up with abuse' – lawyers discuss their experiences of bullying

Lawyer A
"I worked for two partners who disliked each other. They both had their own pet associates. When two partners don't get on, one will sometimes try and get the same associate to work for them and you get used in their power struggle. It got very political. You just hope that your backer is the stronger one. You're fine if you've got powerful protectors in your corner – they will fight for you. Mine didn't.

"I ended up being blamed unfairly for the mistakes of others. I was done for. I was called "fucking stupid" in front of colleagues, but I didn't want to show weakness because there were plenty of others not having those issues. It's almost a badge of honour putting up with abuse.

"When I did object after being sworn at again, I was told that I don't take constructive criticism well. It's amazing how quickly reputations can be lost. After I gave a long exit interview to HR, I later learned that nothing happened."

Lawyer B
"I was a senior associate working for a female partner – she was one of the worst. She bullied me continuously. She's brilliant, totally dedicated, but unbalanced with no life outside the office. She was very good at playing the martyr. If I did a piece of work for her that wasn't quite right, she would redo the whole thing herself and then complain about it to everyone, saying she'd had to spend the whole weekend correcting my awful work. 

"She also put me down in front of a client on the phone. She complained about a document I had drafted on a conference call. She hung me out to dry. The client was mortified. Eventually I had a meltdown – a very visible one – in the office. I couldn't bottle it up any longer. I was moved to different work. I think they saw a lawsuit coming. 

"HR was seen as totally ineffectual. The culture was that you didn't go to HR: it would only damage your career. Partners back each other, especially if it's a high-earning partner. You're never going to win that battle. They close ranks. You just have to put up with partners being difficult and rude – you have to play the game to be successful."

Lawyer C
"Some partners at my old firm were very strange. Using the word bullying makes it sound intentional,  but often it's dealing with dysfunctional people. One partner disliked me. I went over his head and spoke to the billing partner about something. All hell broke loose – I had to give him a written apology for being disingenuous and not being a team player. But I kept my mouth shut and looked for something else. Because it's such a small world, you don't want to be the one airing your grievances. Everyone talks: you don't want to be flagged up as a troublemaker because then your career won't progress and you won't be employed elsewhere.

"What you perceive as bullying can be perceived by others as you not coping. They made me feel uncomfortable as though they were trying to squeeze me out. So I kept a file, stashed away for a rainy day. I saved inappropriate emails, kept a log of certain things that happened and recorded conversations. Then, if it came to it, I could go to HR and it would become a compensation issue. Exhausted and worn out by it all, I decided to leave and am now at a much happier firm."