Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Very Odd

I have always been known as a fast healer. The swelling is way down and I am close to pain free. Unfortunately, I had to go in because of that situation with the particular case. Two cases in a row with a particular practitioner whose cases are difficult and she is always late is vey hard.

This may sound funny but punctuality drives me up a wall. Hey can you possibly be any later. I am waiting for someone to say two hours isn't late enough.

I was very angry at the peer who did this to me. There are certain practitioners who drive me up the wall. This one is probably near the top because she means well and takes on some of the most difficult cases. This is not a problem if you are a legal star and there are many in NYC. It is funny but even the very good can handle some difficult cases.

A great attorney said Beaky what will it take to get this case done. I told her a very simple but crazy idea. Provide a one page memo on why this section of the law doesn't apply to your client. In short mere possesion of that item does not violate that section of the law it requires an affirmative act. I was floored that this information was on my desk in hours and her client approved pronto.

90% of being a great lawyer is listening to your client and being prepared when you have to present your case. The first part is what is going on here. Even the greatest lawyers have clients that lie.  Did your client talk to you about his arrests.  No Beaky can I have 15 minutes. Certainly it is a reasonable request. Lawyers can't help clients who don't tell the whole truth. In many cases the failure to tell the truth is a greater problem than the crime itself. Only a handful of times did the information make the case impossible. Having a client that killed someone and then jumped bail in a foreign country is an almost impossible case. Note, I do not say impossible for maybe there is some legal star who can deal with this and turn defeat into victory. However, the legal stars I know would not touch  this.

If you are well prepared a good officer can look at the presentation and say if it passes the grade. The case of the attorney who needed a short memo was an excellent example. She was well prepared knew the case inside and out and got her client very close to their goal. If I write the memo it may be two weeks or more.

Applicants frequently cry in my office especially after going through years of paper. I joke don't cry until you see your lawyers bill. Everyone laughs but I add without a dedicated professional you definately would not have made it.

No comments: