Popular culture loves to portray the cut and thrust of trials as dramatic events in which lawyers pull rabbits out of hats at a climactic moment, break witnesses down and turn the opposition into a quivering bowl of Jello through brutal ad hominem attacks. It is this last portrayal — turning the opposition into Jello — that warrants particular focus.

In a nutshell, my thesis is this: Although it is perfectly appropriate to relentlessly attack an opponent's argument, or the testimony or credibility of a witness, it is not acceptable to personally attack a lawyer adversary or a lawyer adversary's client.

Mine may be an utterly unsurprising assertion, but an examination is worth careful consideration because some lawyers tend to confuse rude, boorish and obnoxious repartee with effective, hard-nosed advocacy.