Section 3.  Life of a Lawyer

 

Subsection 3.1.  A Great Responsibility 

 

On one cold night, just when I was falling into a deep sleep, I was suddenly awakened by the telephone ringing. The caller was someone I had seen a few times but was merely an acquaintance with no deep relation. It turned out that he was suspected of buying and selling immigrant green cards and arrested; he was detained in the federal prison. By rule he was allowed to make one call to find a lawyer. I had the misfortune to be picked by him. I had absolutely no interest in representing this person and naturally had a right to turn him down. However, the fact was that he could only make one phone call. If I really refused him, he would have no chance to find another lawyer. The sense of professionalism and personal ethics pushed me somewhat helplessly out of bed on this bitterly cold night and rushed to the federal prison very late at night. After passing through very tight prison guards, I met up with this suspect and immediately arranged for him making bail and other matters. Handling this matter did not require great courage, but it reflected the fact that under certain circumstances, the lawyer is the only connection the client has with the outside world and the only point of contact. Any lawyer with a sense of professionalism and ethics will assume the responsibility without hesitation.

Subsection 3.2. A High Pressure Job 

 

Most practicing American lawyers still engage in the traditional, but also difficult, high pressure legal job. The amount of pressure lawyers face at work is difficult for outsiders to understand. For example, a lawyer in private practice in major cities has to deal with problems regarding several aspects every day:

 

First, he has to deal with a variety of deadlines. These include the client’s requests for the lawyer, the judge’s commands, the procedural requirements, and all kinds of deadlines. If a lawyer is careless or does not have enough time to prepare and misses the deadline, the consequences could be disastrous and possibly even lead to a lawsuit. 

 

Second, he has to respond to inquiries from different directions. A lawyer will receive numerous notifications, files, letters, and phone calls every day. He must have a clear mind and properly handle all the matters methodically. In every litigation, there are multiple people involved, including the parties, witnesses, opposing counsel, etc. Everyone involved has a different position, attitude and requirements. When a lawyer receives a phone call or letter, his brain has to be like a computer and quickly switches to the corresponding file. 

 

Third, he must always cope with sudden changes. One feature of lawsuit and legal matters is that at any time, there can be a change and unexpected things often happen. For example, a settlement agreement has already been reached with the opposing counsel, but suddenly the other party change their mind or your own party change their mind. Once a settlement agreement is overturned, a court trial must be scheduled immediately. Thus, the lawyer’s originally plan is completely disrupted. In another example, court documents that are originally ready to deliver to the court within a deadline are rejected by the court because the client forgot his signature. These changes are not under the complete control of the lawyer, still he simply must respond. 

 

Fourth, he has to deal with busy daily work. Even if he does not go to court every day, he still has the daily operations which keep him busy enough. In small law firms or solo private practice, the lawyer  personally has to meet with clients, assign work to staff, and manage the finances such as paying rent, expenses, and salaries. These are the jobs that must be taken care of outside of legal work. If you work in a large firm, although you do not have to spend time on internal administration, you have to attend various big and small partner meetings and case conference. Additionally, when there are more people, there are more affairs. Personal disputes and power struggles will inevitably show up. These are also matters outside of law that a lawyer must deal with. 

 

In short, unless the business is bleak, the daily work of a lawyer in a private practice is very intense and busy. Real legal preparation, research work, or vexing legal problems can only be seriously pondered during late nights or weekends. Lawyers want to live a normal “nine to five life" but at the same time, do not wish to suffer hunger. These wishes are almost impossible to reconcile.

 

Since lawyers have a stressful job and have to withstand extremely high pressure, there are some lawyers who end up becoming involved with alcohol and even drugs. I do not mean to exaggerate the difficulties of lawyers' work, but in actuality, the requirements of the legal occupation are high and lawyers have great responsibilities. There is a popular saying in the legal profession, “Law is a jealous mistress”. It means that legal work is an occupation that will occupy all your time and energy. During the recession, lawyers were under even more pressure. No wonder a 1995 California Bar Association survey found that 60%  of lawyers were tired of the business and wanted to leave the “sea of suffering”.

 

Subsection 3.3.  The Art of Rolling with the Punches

 

Lawyers of course possess the knowledge and skills to deal with legal issues, but legal techniques are always changing. We can only summarize the principles underlying professional knowledge and skills. I will attempt to use some Chinese sayings to describe some legal tricks that the reader might be interested in. 

 

First, “great anticipation”. Analysis beforehand and adequately anticipating events are a lawyer’s most important responsibilities and challenges, because only “insights” provide a head start so that he can suggest the most appropriate tactics.

 

Second, "get to the bottom”. The preface of the book mentions that the most basic training in law school is using the Socratic method to dig up the facts and find the truth. The biggest difference between modern American lawyers and ancient Chinese “Counsellor from Shaoxing” is that modern day lawyers must grasp the art of questions and answers with logical thinking and analytical ability and not simply use sophistry all the time. 

 

Third, “cover up faults and praise the good points”. In other words, avoid the big problem by shifting to a lighter subject.   Cover up the client's vulnerabilities  and let public attention focus on the good points favorable to the client.  Actually, this technique is not limited to lawyers. The greatest skills and purposes of all advertisements, public relations, and political consultants and campaign managers  are used  "cover up faults and praise the good points".

 

Fourth, "Shifting blame". At first hearing, this technique may sound immoral, but many lawyers use it in litigation. Although the “Simpson case” was extreme, it was a very successful example. O.J. Simpson, was originally charged with murdering his ex-wife and friend, but under the "direction" of his lawyers he was transformed into someone who was framed by the Los Angeles Police and was a “victim” of racial discrimination”. Conversely, the Los Angeles Police Department became the object of criticism. 

 

Fifth, “the feelings of commiseration belong to all men”. In a jury trial case, finding a juror’s compassion is a very important skill. When the “Simpson case” was on trial, one day the schedule was for the jurors to follow the judge to the crime scene and Simpson’s mansion to investigate. Through the meticulous arrangements by Simpson's lawyers, when the jurors visited Simpson’s home, the picture of him and his white girlfriend that was originally hung on the wall was already changed to a warm family photo. The reason is very simple. Within the jury of twelve people, ten of them were black. Simpson’s lawyer wanted to earn the favor of the black jurors and arouse their compassion for Simpson. 

 

In 1995, there was a twenty-some year old pair of brothers in Los Angeles who fired twenty shots in close proximity and personally killed their parents to receive their inheritance so that they could enjoy life and pleasure. After the case was exposed, this pair of brothers, who committed parricide, argued that ever since they were young, their father had abused them (of course dead man cannot speak) and they could not stand it any longer. The incident occurred because they were afraid their father would hurt them and feared their mother would help him.  Therefore they were “forced” to kill their parents. The defendant brothers in this case, although nearly thirty years old, were told by their lawyer to wear clothes that a college student would wear. The bald brother even wore a wig. This was all a trick to make them look like young adults. Every time their female lawyers had the chance, they would appear to act like a mother taking care of her children and straighten their clothes and hug them to show intimacy. This “performance” was put on for the jury to see. The lawyers hoped that the jury’s compassion  would make them pity the allegedly long suffering abused “little” brothers. Sure enough, their first trial was successful.