BIFF Response® for Lawyers
Lawyers are expected to stay professional while clients, opposing counsel, and the public sometimes write anything but. This 1-hour course adapts the BIFF Response® method for legal practice: respectful replies that are Brief, Informative, Friendly, and Firm, with worked examples of disrespectful responses rewritten the BIFF way.
Your instructor
Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq.
Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer, High Conflict Institute
500,000+
professionals trained worldwide
Hostile letters tempt lawyers to answer in kind.
In response to hostile and misinformed letters, emails, and texts, the temptation is to fire back, and every fired-back reply becomes part of the record. Clients add their own anger at the opposing party and at their lawyers. BIFF gives you a repeatable standard for staying civil without giving an inch on substance, plus a coaching framework for guiding clients to do the same.
Outcomes you'll bring back from BIFF Response® (Lawyers).
- Recognize Blamespeak in correspondence before it pulls you in.
- Understand the brain dynamics behind hostile written communication.
- Write BIFF Responses®: Brief, Informative, Friendly, and Firm.
- Turn disrespectful drafts into respectful, effective replies.
- Protect the record with replies you'd be comfortable seeing in court.
- Coach clients through writing their own BIFF Responses.
Who BIFF Response® (Lawyers) is built for.
Attorneys
A repeatable standard for correspondence with opposing counsel, clients, and the public.
Paralegals
Draft and screen outgoing communication that keeps the file clean.
Law Firms & Legal Teams
A shared civility standard the whole office can apply consistently.
How BIFF Response® (Lawyers) is delivered.
A 1-hour on-demand course: Blamespeak, the brain, the BIFF method, and how to write BIFF Responses in legal practice.
- 1-hour course — The full BIFF method for legal practice, with before-and-after examples.
- PowerPoint PDF download — Slides to keep beside you while drafting correspondence.
- Certificate of Completion — 1.0 hour documented for your licensure board.
Methods taught in BIFF Response® (Lawyers).
BIFF Response®
The 4-part written reply: Brief, Informative, Friendly, Firm.
Blamespeak Recognition
How to spot attack language in correspondence, and why reacting feeds it.
BIFF Coaching
How to guide clients in drafting and checking their own BIFF replies.
Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq.
Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq. is the co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of the High Conflict Institute. He pioneered the High Conflict Personality Theory (HCP) and is an international expert on managing disputes involving people with high-conflict personalities. He is the author or co-author of more than 25 books, manuals, and workbooks, co-host of the podcast It's All Your Fault!, and writes a Psychology Today blog with millions of views.
Before co-founding HCI, Bill was the Senior Family Mediator at the National Conflict Resolution Center for 15 years, a Certified Family Law Specialist lawyer representing clients in family court for 15 years, and a licensed clinical social worker therapist with twelve years of experience. He has served on the faculty of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law, taught as a Conjoint Associate Professor with the University of Newcastle Law School in Australia, and trained professionals in over 35 U.S. states and 13 countries.
BIFF Response® (Lawyers) — frequently asked questions.
Who is this course for?
How is this different from the general BIFF course?
How do I access the course?
Will I get continuing education credit?
Is this legal or therapeutic advice?
Can our team or organization get this training together?
Ready to enroll?
Enroll an individual seat now, or talk to us about a private cohort designed around your organization's actual cases.
