Serve The Client. Do Justice. But Have Fun.

Law is a service profession with a special obligation to the public and to justice -- but lawyers can and should still have fun, according to columnist John Balestriere.

Ours is a service profession and one with a special obligation to the public and to justice — do not forget that even when so many do. But we can still have fun. Indeed, we should have fun, since we are better litigators when we do so.

Don’t complain. That’s a rule at our firm. The reason is simple and goes beyond some positive attitude, “don’t worry, be happy” nonsense. Instead it is a very practical rule to get you to focus and be easy to work with. We’re litigators and if we didn’t stop ourselves, we could complain all day – and do a bad job.

While we may caution our clients to avoid litigation, the fact is that most of our work involves helping people fight and, in the ideal, beat someone else, sometimes beat the other guy really bad. That means that you see people and situations not at their best but at their worst (something that frankly makes this a pretty damned interesting job much of the time). Our clients and, frequently, the parties on the other side of a litigation are vulnerable, out of sorts, and frequently understandably confused. This means they may not always be in the best of moods.

Added to that is that while many, many litigators in my primary field of business litigation are decent people trying to do the right thing (I’m a little uncertain if I can replace “many, many” with “most,” so I decided to play it safe), some litigators are straight-up liars. Indeed, if a trial lawyer is unencumbered by adherence to morality it is somewhat remarkable how effective he can be in a matter, especially on the defense side. I’ve seen it, almost marveled at it, many times, and it can be immensely frustrating.

And I have not yet met an experienced, hardworking litigator without a story about how terribly wrong a judge got it in one of her cases. You need to know how to handle that, as I’ll discuss in a subsequent column. But it can be disappointing as sin to work hard with your team to come up with the best argument on an important issue and then not get the result you know you deserved.

So there is plenty you could complain about. But don’t. Not only will it make you unpleasant to be around, but it will make you a bad lawyer. Once you start complaining you will get caught up in that, the complaining, focusing on how bad things are, even being an ostensibly good lawyer and marshaling evidence to support your position. You won’t be focused and you won’t have the open mind to be creative as must a great trial lawyer (or anyone who aspires to be a great lawyer). Complaining gets in the way of working on a team, and prevents you from having the focus and being open to the creativity necessary to being a good litigator.

So have fun, ideally starting by poking fun at yourself. If I’ve not met an experienced litigator without a disappointing judge story, I also don’t think I’ve ever met an experienced trial lawyer who wasn’t a downright character. And I’m beyond certain that my colleagues at my firm – and certainly my kids – would quickly label me as . . let’s say “colorful,” and probably a lot more. Our field attracts some real personalities.

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Those adversaries may drive you crazy. But they are frequently interesting, whether they are straight-up nuts (I’ve seen that) or scoundrels (I’ve seen that) or fantastically geeky (goodness knows our field attracts geeks, too).

Clients can be – with respect – interesting as well. Again, we’re often getting them at their worst. You see people do and say and think and want things they ordinarily don’t.

And – with all respect – the judges and clerks and everyone in the courts, well, there is a reason why there are so many movies and television shows about that world. And you get to be in it.

This is all fun. As I started this piece, we have to be mindful, always, that we are serving others (every single lawyer is or should) and we have a special obligation to the public and justice. But we are the best litigators we can be — better in our service to others, better in fulfilling our obligation to justice — by letting go of the complaints and having fun in what we do.


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John Balestriere is an entrepreneurial trial lawyer who founded his firm after working as a prosecutor and litigator at a small firm. He is a partner at trial and investigations law firm Balestriere Fariello in New York, where he and his colleagues represent domestic and international clients in litigation, arbitration, appeals, and investigations. You can reach him by email at john.g.balestriere@balestrierefariello.com.