It's Not Rocket Science, At Least I Hope Not

One of the things I love about the practice of law is it's simplicity. I love that rules govern everything about it: there are rules for procedure, there are rules regarding precedent, and there are even rules regarding behavior.

Well, that's why it confuses (or perhaps frustrates) me when new attorneys say they're not sure what they're doing. I just want to scream, "Of course you're not, you've never done anything like this before, but use some common sense! Go find the information."

Rules govern the law, therefore, by using common sense, it's easy to discover the rule and apply it. 

For instance (and yes, this is a true event), let's say that you have a personal injury case you're working on, and you're trying to locate the address of a potential defendant. Knowing that the internet has a lot of information about people, you decide to search a website listing people's addresses and telephone numbers. You know this defendant lives in, say, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. You also know that your accident occurred in, surprisingly, Oklahoma City. Finally, you know your defendant's name is rather unusual, like ABC XYZ. Being the highly intelligent individual, you plug your information into the search website, and one name appears. Please, do not ask your supervising attorney whether this is the individual. Have confidence, and common sense, that this is your (wo)man. Yes, sometimes it really is that simple.

The key is to believe in yourself enough, and trust your instincts, to recognize when you've hit "pay dirt." You've learned the valuable keys of research in law school. You've learned how to find the information, now apply that knowledge to your new experiences.

I've been mentoring a young law student who has a desire to open his/her practice when he/she graduates in the coming year(s). One of the things that this student does, which consistently frustrates me, is to express his/her uncertainty about what he/she does. This is a sign of a follower, not a leader. 

How do you suspect BigLaw Partner became "BigLaw Partner?" BigLaw Partner worked diligently, and exercised confidence along the way.

I love getting new and interesting cases, like where one holder of a joint banking account gets sues the other holder for conversion, because this gives new and exciting experiences to discover and expand my legal knowledge. 

Far too often, and I think litigators suffer from this the most, we're tied up by our concerns about doing it right from the start, over whether we can find the information and do it at all. This hesitation hampers our development as attorneys, and leaves us stuck in mind-numbing ruts of monotony.

I like to think that there are really no new legal issues, rather there's new circumstances to apply/not apply the old rules. Therefore, for any case you have, there's already a rule established that will tell you how to act (it's not rocket science). Whether it's procedural, statutory, or case law based, the rule is there to find.

Broaden your horizons, expand your knowledge base, and use confidence and common sense.