FROM THE BOARD
This issue's theme of The Atlanta Lawyer is Expectation vs Reality.
Ask the Board
Describe an expectation you had, a reality you discovered, or a lesson you experienced
in your career.
and asked the student if he wanted
me to explain why opposing
counsel was wrong and I was right.
Opposing counsel roared with
laughter, and we explained our
respective positions.
The Judge
came in and said, “Don’t let me
interrupt. Y’all keep talking.” We
resolved the discovery issue.
Robert Wellon
Wellon Family Law
Early in my career, we had a
hotly contested custody case on
appeal. The Supreme Court ruled
against us, so we filed a motion
to reconsider, but we were not
successful. Then, we filed another
motion whereupon they reversed
themselves totally.
Simutaneously, our client had
been calling almost daily, asking
for any available updates, so
much so that I lived with that the
case became my whole life. It
completely consumed both my
team and me.
I resolved then I would not get
so involved that I would lose my
objectivity (and sanity), but it is still
hard though!
Jessica Wood
Bodker, Ramsey, Andrews,
Winograd & Wildstein, PC
I have been surprised and
heartened by the role of kindness,
grace, and courtesy in getting
great results for clients, while
making the practice of law more
pleasant.
One time, my opposing counsel
knew that I was about to cross-
examine a witness for the first time,
perhaps because I was quaking
with nervousness. Before I could
get up from my chair to approach
the witness, opposing counsel
leaned over and whispered, “go
get ‘em, Tiger!”
In another instance, my opposing
counsel brought a high school
intern to observe argument on a
discovery motion. I approached
the student, introduced myself,
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