The Most Difficult Trial - Retirement
They say the law professor who wrote the seminal treatise on wills died intestate . Whether accurate or not , it serves as a single glaring example of a myopic and a colossal lack of preparation . For trial lawyers , who spend a lifetime preparing for every little contingency in the courtroom , it is a shocking oversight that is obvious to everyone except the one looking back from the mirror . Failing to prepare for the end of your practice is preparing to fail the people you served all those years , your clients .
Dying with your boots on ... propped up against a cabinet full of clients is not noble . It is not a dueling scar that has been earned with grace and dignity through a lifetime of courtroom battles . It is a blemish . Solo practitioners , because of their singular practice and isolation , forget to heed the warning signs gathering at the end of the day . Their years of meticulous pre-trial preparation should also include preparation for when the light begins to fade . And , at last , when the lights are turned off and the office door is securely latched , your clients and your profession will still deserve your very best . That very best includes detailed plans for a graceful exit .
Trial lawyers never think the clock strikes 12 . Trial work feeds your soul . It makes time stand still . It whispers in your ear that you are forever young . The work is intoxicating , even addicting . It is hard to give it up . It is hard to let go . And the search for the off ramp is often pock-marked with unforced and unintentional missteps . There is no rule of forgiveness in the Code of Professional Responsibility . Forgiveness is not part of the disciplinary process . Solo practitioners need to have a plan before they miss the last off ramp . For lawyers , missing the off ramp does not come with a happy ending . Unlike the buffalo , there are no paintings of trial lawyers on the courthouse wall .
Tom Dickson is a trial lawyer in Bismarck , N . D .
The Painting
This painting hangs in the lobby of the Hettinger County Courthouse . Mott is the county seat of Hettinger County . In 1948 , Hettinger County commissioned Marie Weinberger to paint “ The Last Buffalo Hunt ." There were no photographs or drawings to reference the depictions contained in the painting . Setting up a studio in her rural living room , Weinberger relied upon oral histories and stories as the historical basis of her painting . Hettinger County paid her $ 300 .
Special thanks to the following people in Hettinger County for their help and generosity in writing this article : Marlene Kouba , granddaughter of Marie Weinberger ; Kevin Carvell , unofficial historian of Hettinger County ; Tracy Kruger , Hettinger County Clerk of Court and Magistrate ; and Robin Ulrich : Hettinger County Clerk of Court and County Recorder .
" The Last Buffalo Hunt " painting hangs in the Hettinger County Courthouse , Mott , N . D .
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