"Every law firm has them: Partners who bring business in the door but make everyone else want to bolt through it. Their associates live in a state of dread. Their fellow partners avoid them. Only clients see their good side.

Experts say Big Law tends to attract and reward aggressive, hard-charging personalities. Despite their outward confidence, these same lawyers can also be ultrasensitive to criticism, and they may show lower “emotional intelligence” compared with the general public, personality tests have shown.

Given those factors, most big firm careers require run-ins with overbearing, obnoxious or even abusive partners. The question is, how do you deal with it? When is it time for management to stage an intervention?

Psychologists and therapists who work with lawyers say that some amount of bad behavior comes with the territory of working in Big Law. But Eric Seeger, a law firm strategy and management consultant at an Altman Weil Inc., warned that inconsiderate conduct can undermine firms in the long run, costing them business and driving away lawyers and staff."

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