Dear Readers, What Would You Have Done?

Assume for a moment that you are a male partner in a large BigLaw firm speaking on a panel at a legal seminar in front of approximately 100 attorneys from across the country.  Seated next to you is a young woman, a solo, of all things, if you can believe it.  She is the second of the four panelists to speak. 

Approximately halfway through her 20 minute presentation, you notice that she is ever-so-slightly, almost imperceptibly, twisting her pen in her hand, which occasionally causes a nearly inaudible squeak. 

It's driving you crazy.  Who knows why--we could speculate all week on that one.  Nevertheless, it's driving you absolutely batty.  And, God forbid, perhaps the microphone is picking it up.  Maybe the entire audience is in agony, just as you are. 

No one's cringing--in fact, they all appear to be quite engaged in her presentation and are actually laughing, smiling, and nodding their heads at her.  But, maybe they're just collectively extremely good actors.  After all, this is NYC and it's just full of wanna-be actors.  Everyone knows that.

So, back to the pen.  It's making you ill.  How should you handle this situation?

Would you:
	Sit on your hands and suffer through it.
	Discretely pass her a note advising her that her pen squeaks when she twists it.
	When she pauses, lean over and very quietly ask her to stop.
	While she is in mid-sentence, fielding a substantive legal question, reach over, take it from her hand, pause and then whisper "It was squeaking"
	Stand up and scream "I can't take it anymore!  Stop twisting the damn pen, woman!"
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Comments

[David M. Gottlieb, Esq.]

After having another attorney tell me how much noise I was making clicking my pen during the entirety of a trial, I have taken up the habit of using pens that don't click. I've also learned to pay better attention to my little idiosyncasies.

[Scott Greenfield]

Take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

You left out the option of stopping in mid-response, turning to the Biglaw partner, and saying in a loud clear voice, "Apparently, Mr. X has deep-seated pen issues, a growing problem with males partners at Biglaw firms. Don't worry, Mr. X, your pen is bigger," and then resumed your response without missing a beat.

[NBlack]

Ah, but Scott, in my scenario, you're the BIgLaw partner, not the pen twister.

That being said, your first sentence echoes my husband's response to this post. He doesn't understand why I posted it in the first place.

I suppose my rationale is to get a dialogue going on this issue. I'm interested in seeing what some of the comments are from various readers.

[Scott Greenfield]

But I'd rather be the pen twister. Can't Eric be the Biglaw partner?

Seriously, I vote that he was rude and should never have interupted, no matter how he felt.

[Eric @ New York Personal Injury Law Blog]

Can't Eric be the Biglaw partner?

Probably not. I voted for:

Stand up and scream "I can't take it anymore! Stop twisting the damn pen, woman!"

I don't know if I'm cut out for BigLaw.

--ET

[NBlack]

So Eric, you're one of the three who would stand up and shriek in the middle of a seminar;) I'm dying to know who the other two are. And, given the poll results thus far, I am absolutely astounded that more seminars that I've attended haven't erupted into complete chaos halfway through.

And, yes, I just realized that I misspelled "discreet" in the poll, given the context in which is was used. Unfortunately, I can't edit the poll at this point.