How to Prevent a Madman in the Office

When catastrophic world events like the intentional crashing of a Germanwings plane into the Alps dominate the news, it’s hard not to be thinking about these grim realities at work, in class, when taking public transportation, wherever. At a moment when alarming revelations about copilot Andreas Lubitz are still being disclosed, one can’t help but wonder how anyone can forestall someone bent on destroying coworkers, innocent bystanders, or a business.

It’s at this point that instructors might relate the Germanwings incident to whatever course they’re teaching, whether it’s product liability, contracts, consumer law, insurance law, media law, or labor and employment. From a law office management perspective, one can think about the kinds of harm an intentional bad actor could bring about, and how to screen candidates without repelling potentially good ones, how to encourage engagement of everyone in the office, how to react should a catastrophic event occur.

Here, instructors can help students learn with this particular fact pattern, and can also help them work through their own feelings about this horrific event by talking about it and thinking of ways the law and its enforcers can minimize the likelihood that such a bad act will happen again any time soon.

—Lori Tripoli


Tackling some of the more difficult elements of the legal business? Consider these posts:

• Working with Killers
• From Newtown to Your Town
• How Many Bad Lawyers Are There?
• Post-Aurora Resolution: Protect Yourself from WorkplaceViolence