If you are like me, you would admit that we wander plenty; we need to wonder more! Education is a lifelong journey. The early Greeks called this philosophy Paideia – a full education only begins with formal schooling.
I found this to be true in the practice of law. Upon graduating from Texas Tech many years ago, I knew more black-letter law that I ever would again. But I knew nothing about practicing law. My education as an attorney had just begun.
My many lessons learned include:
- Common sense is not all that common;
- No one wants a fair trial; they want to win;
- Precious few want the WHOLE truth to come out;
- Cutting through all the legal mumbo jumbo, most civil wrongs can be tested against “What would Ward Cleaver have done?”
- EVERYTHING is negotiable;
- Words are powerful (e.g., a strongly written letter can sometimes make an even stronger man act as he should);
- Probate often turns Jekyll into Hyde (i.e., family members grow fangs);
- “Amicable divorce” is both an oxymoron and a myth; and
- A lawyer’s “brief” seldom is.