According to the Dictionary, accountability means: “the quality or state of being accountable[;] especially [] an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions[.]”[i]

Use of the word “accountability” has been playfully mocked in many articles, blogs, and social media posts because the word has shifted away from its original origins. While some form of the word “accountability” has been used for more than seven hundred years, the word “accountability,” was said to first appear in the 1700s; it was used in the late 1700s to refer to lack of government responsibility.[ii]

By analyzing the definition of “accountability” from the dictionary, it is difficult to conceive of the actual challenge. However, many now use the word “accountability” in service of their motives. Simply scroll through any social media platform, and you will likely find a social frenzy wherein someone posts something like, “John Doe should be held accountable.”

The legal world is not immune to the accountability-morphosis. But, if we return to its stated definition, and begin with “an obligation” or “willingness” to “accept responsibility” or to “account for one’s actions” it becomes less difficult to understand, and then to apply. The definition of “accountability” first begins with being obliged (by law; writer inserted) or willing (by ethics; writer inserted) to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. There is nothing in the definition of “accountability” which requires someone to accept responsibility for something they did not do. Despite its clarity, in the legal world, attorneys steer clear of the word “accountability” because they think it is tantamount to liability. It is not.

As attorneys, in any jurisdiction in which you practice, if you are headed to a jury trial on a civil matter, the jurors are going to want to hear how all parties could have done things better or differently. If you do not clear up how each party is accounting for their actions, the jurors will continue to wonder, why (if the matter was so clear) did they take hours away from what they needed to do to sit patiently, listen attentively, and ultimately render their verdict. The evidence from jury verdicts makes one point clear: If attorneys fail to address “accountability” on behalf of their client, juries will find them accountable themselves, and the outcome will be costly.[iii]

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Sources

[1] “Accountability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accountability. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026 (citation modified).

[1] “Accountability, N.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, July 2023, https://www.oed.com/dictionary/accountability_n. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

[1] Tyson, Robert F., Jr., and Cayce E. Lynch. Nuclear Verdicts®: The Apex—Break the Pattern. Law Dog Publishing LLC, 2025.