Nothing ratchets up the tension in a courtroom drama like a good screaming match—or at least some witty insults—between lawyers. But for real lawyers in the real world, a contentious relationship with opposing counsel is considerably less entertaining. In fact, it can be downright exhausting.

Of the 66 respondents to a recent The Legal Intelligencer poll, nearly 44 percent said they see lack of civility as a pervasive issue and 50 percent said it was somewhat pervasive. The remaining 6 percent are apparently either very lucky, totally oblivious or just really thick-skinned.

In fact, of all the regions surveyed—Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas—Pennsylvania lawyers reported the most distress about incivility.

(Click the arrows in the graphic to explore results in other regions.)

But as striking as those numbers are, it's the anonymous open-ended answers we received that are the most illuminating on the subject.

Many described an increasing inflexibility among opposing counsel with regard to filing deadlines, a lack of responsiveness to discovery requests (as well as to routine calls and emails), and a general unwillingness to compromise.

One respondent recalled being denied a deadline extension by opposing counsel in a contract negotiation despite being hospitalized because of a medical emergency related to her pregnancy.

“I'll never forget being in a hospital bed, having tests run to ensure that my baby was OK, while apologizing profusely to my client for my opposing counsel's utter lack of decency,” the respondent said. ”My baby (now almost 4) is healthy and wonderful and the contract got signed (thanks to my client's flexibility) but I will never forget the callousness of opposing counsel's handling of this issue.”

Other respondents relayed being cursed at by adversaries in open court, as well as incidents of name-calling, sarcastic and sexist comments and even lawyers “making childish faces” at opposing counsel.

“Nonverbal displays of incivility are also rampant,” that last reader said.

But while the vast majority of respondents seemed to agree that the profession has gotten ruder, there was less consensus on who is to blame for that devolution.

“Generally bad behavior seems to come from older lawyers,” said one respondent.

“More younger attorneys (out less than 10 years) have an attitude [of] entitlement, lack of professionalism and lack basic social and professional skills,” said another.

One thing seemed clear to a number readers, however: technology isn't helping.

“Attorneys are emboldened by the keyboard and communicate less professionally via email and texts than by letter and in person,” one respondent opined.

“Verbal wars over email seem to be the method of choice for some attorneys, despite their experience and skill,” another said.

But there may be hope—at least for litigators. One reader said judges seem to be making more effort to crack down on poorly behaved attorneys.

“There is serious competition among firms in certain practice areas, and supply exceeds demand,” the respondent said. “However, rudeness and incivility are less tolerated by the courts, and abuse, harassment and other serious misconduct is more likely to be the subject of sanctions than in the past.”