(FORTUNE Small Business) – Rules outlawing abusive behavior are popping up in a famously boorish profession. Law firms such as Snell & Wilmer, a 400-lawyer outfit based in Phoenix, are marketing their new "no jerks" rule to attract better summer interns. At Perkins Coie, a Seattle-based firm with 600 lawyers, even superstars are docked partnership points if they yell at secretaries. Robert Sutton, a professor at Stanford University's graduate school of business, believes that such policies should be implemented by small businesses, where abuse can be especially damaging to productivity and employee retention. "From pure humanity to tacky economics, I can't understand why firms put up with so many assholes," says Sutton. --I.M.