Behind the Scenes
To help another person. What does “help” actually mean? How does one help someone? Assist? Guide? Be of support? Teach? Counsel? The simple fact: most helpers do not help. We surely intend well, but our efforts fall short. What’s the reason? Well, let us count the ways. We unwittingly work at cross purposes to another’s […]
Possibility of Interpretation
Possibility of Interpretation Ideas, late-night thoughts, random musings––to keep track of things, and why not? Item. Certain strongly held beliefs, particularly those which define one’s identity, if looked upon at a slightly readjusted angle, can easily become a form of self-deception in much the same way as that of a mirage or hallucination or possibility […]
Not So Simple
Things are not so simple. We know this when we’re in the presence of a child. Three questions––that’s all it takes. While in a car with a parent, a seven–year old child might ask: why do we age? “Because as time passes, we grow older.” The child asks: why? “Because our cells, our DNA, sustain […]
Ideas and Groups
Working as a group––its own complex puzzle. “The three main factors affecting a team’s cohesion (working together well) are: environmental, personal, and leadership.”[1]Varying perspectives, differing viewpoints, joined to solve a single complex problem. How can each member of the group be successful? How can one person assist, or resist, another to reach an optimal solution? […]
Producing the Plaintiff
You’re seated next to your client at a large table, opposing counsel on the other side. Testimony that’s accurate, clear, persuasive, and appropriate––that’s at least one of your goals. For the young lawyer, here are some general guidelines: Keep the supply of facts flowing in response to cross-examination questions. Primarily most discovery depositions boil down […]
Connecting the Dots
An opening statement, we are told, is a recitation of the facts, preferably in chronological order, without embellishment, ornamentation, or argument. This probably explains why most opening statements are imprecise, generalized, and not particularly persuasive. Might there be a better way? “Psychological resilience refers to the ability of individuals to successfully respond to major changes, […]
The Analytics of Emotion
Emotion, we are told, has no place in law, lawsuits, or legal analysis. Soft, fuzzy, imprecise––emotion is not only valueless, it’s detrimental, destructive. Just imagine the consequences if emotion were to assume even a small role. There are distinct advantages, we’re assured, to emotionless, analytical thinking: it promotes accuracy; it cuts through the irrelevant, the […]
Reality vs. Appearance of Reality
An attempted yet failed solution to a problem is not harmless. Particularly in the legal, social, or political realms, you have not only the initial problem, but you have a failed solution to the problem which adds complexity, an added variable, to that which previously existed. Now, those grappling with the problem in the future […]
The Shape of Perception
We draw instantaneous conclusions of those we meet. That person is kind and friendly; that other, intimidating, distancing. How do we perceive others? What elements work to influence our social perception? One would think that merely drawing a particular shape should have no influence on one’s assessment of those around you. In fact, something as […]
Back to Basics
The young lawyer, having just finished reading a book on military history, likens a lawsuit to a form of warfare. The older lawyer tries to explain the two are not quite analogous even though both in a general sense utilize both “strategy” and “tactics.” Marshalling those facts favorable to your side of the case. A […]
