Litigators

Stay Busy (Just Enough) To Win

You and your team will be happier -- and do better work for your clients -- if you have a lot to do.

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My colleagues and I are thankfully busy — seemingly all the time and consistent with the way it goes in business litigation. But just as my native New York, though reputed to be the city that never sleeps, takes kind of a cat nap around 5 a.m., litigation does slow down just a bit at times, such as the end of summer. It did for our firm as well.

However, there is no cat nap now for us or anyone in litigation. We are all back and the schedules at our firm seem intense for all of us. Yet, I find myself getting so much more work done now than I did in August even though it seemed I had a lot more time two or three weeks ago. But this is how it goes and something trial lawyers need to keep in mind: be busy and you’ll be a better lawyer.

I was told by my Irish grandmother when I was growing up that, “If you want something done ask someone busy to do it” was an old Irish saying. I’m actually not sure if the origin of the statement is as she told me. But she was wise, and it is, indeed, an astute statement: we are more focused and we accomplish more when we are busy.

There are at least two reasons for this. The first is that we learn to be ruthless managers of our resources. There is too much to do. We only have so much time and so much energy. Our colleagues also only have so many hours in the day and so many calories they can burn. So we have to prioritize. We ask ourselves what must get done, now, and how. And we do it. The seeming lack of freedom of being pressed for time can ironically be liberating; rather than spending so much time and, even more, mental energy, in deciding what exactly to do or musing on our work, we simply need to focus to get it done

Of course, you can be too busy. That’s not good. I’m not saying to keep piling on the work. That’s when you need to assess and discuss with colleagues and supervisors how to reorganize. And lawyers have to manage their own time, and do it well; this is part of being a good lawyer. But if you care about being a great lawyer and winning for your clients you will want to have enough to keep you a bit too busy all day and week long (though remember to keep that sabbath time).

A second reason being a busy lawyer is good is that it simply gets you better at what you’re doing, and more people will ask you to do more important, meaningful work. There’s a reason why someone is busy in the first place, at least in a well-run law office. It’s because that person is good at what she does. And without sounding too circular, she gets good by being busy, by doing the work over and over.

Our firm wins all the time and it’s not because of our winsome charm, or, I have to admit, even because of our God-given gifts (though both help, I think). We win because we work harder than the other guy. Stay busy.

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john-balestriereJohn 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.

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