The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend, Until He Isn't.

Allies and Adversaries. Lawyers, as a rule, work in an adversarial system. We are either friends or adversaries, in any litigation or transaction. Our job is to resolve conflict between people and entities, or to resolve them with compromise. We have an innate understanding of the human fact that our relationships change with the facts, circumstances, and sometimes the weather. We read the room. We cash the check. We argue and cajole. The same lawyer who once told me, as a disappointed loser in my first trial that, if I got paid, I won my case, also told me that lawyers are the middlemen, and that we must treat everyone with respect; because, today's adversary is tomorrow's client. So, treat everyone as you wish to be treated, with honesty and respect. Because, the weather will surely change.

Comments

[Michael Haltman]

In New York there is a great CLE that utilizes the skills of the poker table to read the room, overtake a bully, negotiate etc.