That includes co-counsel, opposing counsel, witnesses, jurors, and, of course, the court. To be sure, the lawyer is a contestant, combative and pugnacious, but that does not mean that he must be always gross, coarse, and crass. He should temper his crassness. We should, as our mothers taught us, be ladies and gentlemen on all occasions. The courtroom and the squared circle have much in common.
Engagements are adversarial.
Each has its code of ethics. The Canons and the Queensberry Rules. Both codes are generally observed. The common goal is to destroy the opposition. Civility is never out of place.