It Just Figures

This past weekend I did something almost unthinkable: I took virtually the entire weekend off from work, despite a slew of pressing deadlines that should have scared me into the office for at least 12 hours. I'd hit my limit, and I had fun activities calling my name, so I decided that I might as well enjoy myself for once since the next six weeks will be nothing but trial preparation and crying. Maybe occasional sleeping. So, I went out with friends and got crazy Friday night. I slept in on Saturday and went to the usual hangout before heading to a crawfish boil. I dropped into the office only briefly on Sunday, but otherwise caught up on my TV, cooked, and played in the World Series qualifier. I did no work of any merit. AND I LOVED IT.

The downside of this decision was that on Monday I worked until midnight on one project, and then yesterday after a deposition I began the article that has been plaguing me for weeks now. I have now written 2500 words or so, but much of it is drivel. (Mary Grabar could definitely have written it.) The article is due on Friday. And since I cannot turn in drivel, I asked the person for whom I am writing the article if we could see about an extension until Monday so that I can do the proper reworking it so desperately needs. She agreed, and I fired off an email to the publisher, figuring I would get 2-3 more days to hammer this baby out.

I got a whole month. A MONTH! Woo hoo!

Except now I am sitting here wondering why I worked until 1am and then got up at 6 to keep working on the damned article. Ugh.

It is always the way with litigators, that only after you go through the painful and tedious preparation does the need for all that work evaporate due to a continuance, settlement, or resolution of the issue. For 2 weeks I drafted the world's longest brief (referred to in these parts as my "masterpiece," probably derisively) which came out to a whopping 48 pages when it was finally done...only to find that a conference call with the other side made 90% of the issues moot so we won't be filing it. But if I had not done the work and gotten into a position to threaten imminent filing of said heavier than crap masterpiece, the dispute would never have resolved on its own.

Similarly, I can recall a few years ago needing to write motions in limine for an automobile case that was rapidly speeding towards trial, even though by all accounts it was a strong settlement candidate. In fact, just as I was about to map out a whole day to get the motions done, I received word from local counsel that it appeared likely the case would settle after all. Not wanting to do unnecessary work, I turned to other projects...only to get a call later that night that in fact settlement was a no-go, and we needed to file the motions by tomorrow, and I could just whip them up quickly, yes? (Sure, writing 14 motions is a piece of cake, no problem!) I put in the all-nighter and got them done, and the next day we filed the motions...and then the case settled the following day. I was too tired to be surprised or upset by that one.

This hurry-up-and-wait situation creates a lot of frustration among lawyers. Why should we kill ourselves for cases that we suspect will not live to bear the fruits of such efforts? Trial preparation is the big game of chicken for most litigators, because realistically 95%+ of cases never reach trial. Georgia has the added bonus of allowing Plaintiffs to dismiss a case without prejudice at any time up until trial as of right, with 6 months to re-file the case. We have had it happen twice in the year that I have been in my present position that a Plaintiff has employed that tactic on the Friday before a trial was scheduled to start, by which point all witnesses have been prepped, all outlines have been drafted, all exhibits have been assembled and marked, and the players are ready to go (if a bit tired because they haven't slept in a month.) It is maddening to put in all of that work only to start all over again at the beginning, because of some stupid statutory quirk.

And so, as I am about to embark on a month of hell for the most intense trial preparation I have ever known (hopefully not to eclipse in horribleness the case that caused me to leave my last firm), I'm of course naturally inclined to wonder how likely all this work is to bear real fruit. I want to go to trial for the first time and gain that experience, and I'm already quite emotionally and intellectually invested in the case at this point. I also would not shed a tear if I could go on vacation in the next 2 months or actually see home in the daylight hours, either. But what I really don't want is to lose the next month of my life only to see a continuance or settlement at the very last second. That might send me over the edge.