I wanted to be an Attorney when I was eight years old and had started watching Perry Mason on television. He was strong in his beliefs, fair, smart, and he was nice to his staff. He was even nice to his criminal clients because he believed in them as people who deserved to be treated with respect. I swore that if I was able to work my life in such a way as to become a lawyer, I would be like him.
I had no problem being a "people person" since I learned the art of conversation at a very young age, and became a real chatty-Cathy from the time I learned to talk -- or so I have been reminded every time family gets together. And, although my childhood was tainted with some things that are best left for another discussion, those things made me stronger and more empathetic toward clients and their families. I have faithfully followed Perry's lead on how to treat my staff, and for the most part, that has helped me be successful in my career. A good staff helps, and good staff comes from being in a "happy place." A happy place is created by a boss who cares about their staff, and expects that everyone will respect each other, even if they don't like each other enough to hang-out after hours.
For the most part, I love my job. Lately, things have been very busy -- too busy, truth be told, and they have been too hectic to allow much time to enjoy this work like I used to. Getting paid for my services helps, of course, and although that sounds like an odd comment (because, after all, don't lawyers get well paid?), there are always clients who have something else to spend their money on rather than pay their debt to you, as agreed in the payment agreement. But, despite what many people think about lawyers in general, I do not place as much emphasis on the money aspect of the job as I do on the successful outcome of the client's case. By successful, it may surprise people to learn that success is not always measured by whether or not your client has been awarded everything they were seeking. Let me explain.
Clients have certain expectations, and many times those expectations are formulated from discussions with friends and families, and other times they are based on what they have seen on television, i.e., their favorite lawyer shows or even what has been on the news. Probably 99% of the time the information they are receiving from any of these sources has come from another time (far distant past), another County in the State, another State, a fictional character (Ally McBeal comes to mind), or other sources that have absolutely no connection to my client or their case. I love friends and family who get involved with clients, filling their heads with stories about when their sister's neighbor's best friend's aunt got her divorce in Kentucky in 1965, or when their Uncle Joe's cousin in Baton Rouge was arrested for arson when he was at his girlfriend's house instead of being at home with his wife. The point is, my clients' expectations are not always realistic, and even if I am able to get some reality through to them, the minute those family and friends start in, my job just became double-the-trouble. I cannot begin to count the number of clients who ask the same questions a dozen times over a year because family and friends have told them a different outcome based on experiences they have had or have heard about.
And talk about frustration when clients come to me, frantic because their soon-to-be former spouse told them that their lawyer told them that I was a bad lawyer, a greedy person, and that I always do things that should not be done because of some stupid reason. Now, if they are getting rid of that spouse because of something they have done that is unforgivable, they hate each other for some reason, they no longer trust each other, can someone please tell me why that person should be believed about anything -- specifically, why do you think your good-for-nothing spouse would say ANYTHING nice about your lawyer???? And why does that good-for-nothing spouse have anything to say that should matter to you, in any way, ever again?
Okay, so all of the above was to lay groundwork for this first post about trying to be a nice person.
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