For the uninitiated, Punch is a baby rhesus macaque at a Japanese zoo who became an internet sensation for a heartbreaking reason. Born into a rigid, unforgiving social hierarchy known as “Monkey Mountain,” Punch was rejected by his mother shortly after birth. In the wild, this is often a death sentence. In the zoo, it meant he had to be hand-raised by keepers before being reintroduced to a troop that didn’t know him and didn’t necessarily want him.

To help him survive the transition, zookeepers gave him a “Stuffy,” a plush doll that acted as a surrogate mother. When Punch is “dragged” (a literal term for when high-ranking macaques grab a subordinate by the limb and pull them across the ground to assert dominance), he doesn’t just give up. He retreats to his Stuffy, clings to it until his heart rate slows, and then finds the courage to try again.

If we’re honest, the legal landscape can sometimes feel a lot like that enclosure. We bring in brilliant interns and associates, throw them into the “troop,” and expect them to immediately understand the complex social roadmap of billable hours, office politics, partner temperaments, and professional decorum. But what happens when a junior gets “dragged”? Maybe it’s a disapproving partner, a cold shoulder from a senior associate who’s “too busy” to explain the nuances, or an office manager being belittled through no fault of his or her own. To the observer, it looks like a necessary socialization. To the one being dragged, it feels like an existential threat.

Maybe that’s why Punch affected so many. Maybe at one time or another, we’ve all felt like Punch. And it’s important to note, the zookeepers didn’t just leave Punch to figure it out. They gave him Stuffy. In our world, that’s an ally. We often talk about mentorship as if it’s a formal quarterly coffee. But Punch shows us that true advocacy is about being the “Stuffy,” the person a colleague can retreat to when they’ve been scolded by the hierarchy. One great teacher or believer doesn’t just make a lawyer better. They make them resilient. They provide the psychological safety that allows a junior to leave their comfort zone, get rejected, and still have the courage to walk back into the enclosure the next morning.

The internet was outraged by the video of Punch being dragged, but the zoo experts called it “necessary discipline.” Those of us who are seasoned can face this tension. When do we interfere in a colleague’s dispute?

• If it’s a “Drag”: If the behavior is purely about dominance, bullying, or excluding a “rejected” member of the firm, silence is a choice. We have an ethical duty to the culture of our Bar to be the one who steps in.
• If it’s a “Lesson”: If the friction is helping them learn the “social roadmap” of the law, we don’t remove the struggle. We become the safe harbor they return to after the struggle.

Punch is still working his way into the troop, one cautious step at a time, and he is managing it because he knows he has a safe place to retreat when things get rough. Most lawyers I know had someone like that early in their careers, who quietly believed in them when the rest of the “troop” seemed skeptical. As we head into another busy week, it’s worth asking ourselves a simple question. Is there someone around us who is still trying to find their footing? If so, the most meaningful thing we may be able to offer is not a lecture or a performance review, but a place of encouragement and perspective. A profession built on hierarchy doesn’t have to run on intimidation. Sometimes all it takes is one steady person to help a younger lawyer gather themselves, walk back into the enclosure, and try again.