The Work Goes On...

And then you come back to earth. After the joy of playing music for the masses, the office beckons. The work needs to continue. The clients have entrusted you with their cases and, by extension, their lives. They need your help. You need to buckle down, young man, and get these things done.

Oh, there are setbacks. Last Friday I travelled to Crescent City to fight a losing cause. I argued my best, did what I could to make the judge see that our side was the right one. We were trying to vacate a judgment from last year. The judge disagreed, said that he did not see any reason to vacate the judgment, let it stand.

So of course the next thing is a flaming email from the client, hurt and angry that we had lost. On one hand, I understand: This was the most important thing in the world to the client. But on the other, it's somewhat frustrating, because the client didn't rail against the judge. No, the client blamed me, said I was incompetent, said I didn't belong in the law.

You try to be understanding. This client really needed to win this motion. But some things are baked in the cake long before you pick up the recipe. This was one of those cases.

So you move on. Yesterday I was able to go to court to get a very good disposition on a DUI case, a disposition which the client deserved because, frankly, there were problems with the case for the DA.

When I told the client what the new and better offer was, she said, "I want to hug you for this."

So, the gratitude of clients. Sometimes they are happy when you get them what they want and need. Sometimes they tell you that you are the worst person ever to pass the bar when they are disappointed by the outcome.

It's human nature, I suppose. But I can't afford to dwell either on my successes or my failures. There are 20 more clients who need my attention. No one wins them all; winning a majority is all one can reasonably ask for. Still, you try to win them all, despite reality.