This might not have been the most professional thing I've ever done

And it's only happened 2 times since I've been practicing law. Um, I kind of hung up the phone on someone. Opposing counsel in one of my cases, in fact.

Now, this is a tactic that I sometimes employ in my personal life. And usually when I hang up on the person I feel terrible afterwards.

But when I hang up on someone at work I feel no remorse. Especially this time. A party in one of my cases has had 5 months to answer my discovery. And instead of filing a motion to compel and setting it right away, I was nice. I wrote a letter reminding him the discovery was overdue, and I made telephone calls too. Neither were returned. I never got answers to my discovery, so I filed motions to compel.

I'm supposed to go to court tomorrow and argue these motions. I know I will win, and it's a huge waste of my client's money, and I just don't feel like going. So, I (or rather my secretary, the angel) tried to work it out with the other attorney. He asked for 20 days. I let him have 10 instead. You know, out of principle. He's figuring it's already been 5 months, what's another 3 weeks.

Then he just called me saying he would get everything to me in 20 days. I said I offered him 10, not 20 days. He asked what difference it made.

SIDEBAR:In reality it doesn't make a difference, but I don't like when people ignore me and my clients for 5 months and then call me and act like they're doing me a favor, I usually don't appreciate it.

I told him that the discovery was 5 months overdue and my client was already extremely prejudiced, and that if he didn't agree to my offer I was going to ask the judge for $750 in fees (which I have asked for and received in other cases), and that I would get it. He actually said "Oh please." And then he said it several more times. And he may have said it several times after that, but since I hung up the phone I'll never know.