It’s All Your Fault with Megan Hunter – Part 2

Mastering High-Conflict Conversations: Expert Strategies for Attorneys


Navigating high-conflict individuals is an inevitable part of practicing law. The ability to manage these interactions effectively—without escalating tensions—is a vital skill for any attorney.

While experience is the best teacher for handling challenging conversations, it can be difficult to practice when your brain’s fight-or-flight response kicks in. That’s why proper training is essential to building confidence and staying in control during high-conflict situations.

In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life®, Steve welcomes back Megan Hunter, co-founder of the High Conflict Institute and a renowned expert in conflict resolution. Megan shares actionable strategies for de-escalating tense situations and managing interactions with difficult individuals.

You’ll learn:

  • Three proven strategies to handle conflict effectively.
  • Megan’s personal story of navigating a challenging interaction with a high-conflict attorney.
  • Practical acronyms to help you stay calm and focused in emotional moments.
  • Why setting clear boundaries is crucial for managing disagreements.

Tune in to gain valuable insights and tools that will empower you to handle high-conflict individuals with confidence and professionalism.


Inside This Episode

  • Why dealing with high-conflict people requires having a lot of structure, policies, and clear expectations
  • Megan Hunter’s personal experience with a high-conflict person and how she dealt with it
  • How to use an EAR statement (Empathy, Attention, and Respect) in a moment of conflict
  • Why the interaction with a high-conflict person has to be about them at that moment
  • What to understand about high-conflict individuals to have more empathy for them
  • What a BIFF (brief, informative, friendly, and firm) statement is and how to use it when dealing with high-conflict people in writing
  • The importance of setting limits with high-conflict individuals

Supporting Resources

Steve Riley

Steve Riley

Shareholder, Practice Advisor, & Attorney Steve Riley has coached attorneys for more than 20 years. His one-on-one coaching focuses on a limited number of top producing attorneys committed to taking their practices to new levels of excellence, profit, and personal success. He also presents at group coaching workshops around the country for individual law firms, state bar associations, and other legal organizations. READ MY FULL BIO
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