I can't remember how much I've told you about myself (aside from the things I'm doing to open a successful criminal defense law firm) and I'm not going to look back to figure it out. So, if this is more detailed or less detailed than you already know, too bad (if you care).
In general, I am a criminal defense attorney and DUI attorney (I consider them to be different technically) who, almost one year ago from today moved from a small city in the Midwest to a large city in the Pacific Northwest. When I moved to said city, I didn't know a soul in the legal community. I'd never practiced in said city. I wasn't familiar with their rules, practices, procedures, and how things "really" ran. I pretty much went in cold. All I had was my (semi-considerable) experience from the Midwest.
To figure out what was going on in my new city, I reached out. I sent completely blind emails to anyone I could find any shred of compatibility or commonness with and asked them if they would meet and talk with me about stuff. I asked stupid DUI questions to get lunch, I asked stupid criminal defense questions to get a coffee. And anytime I met anyone anywhere that did what I did, I sent them an email and asked if they'd like to talk. And I learned a lot pretty quickly.
In no time flat, I also realized something that I wasn't sure I really knew, believed, or understood about most legal communities out there - there is a pretty high level of camaraderie, particularly with those that do what you do. Sure, the world is competitive, and they aren't going to give you their clients (and maybe not even their marketing secrets), but when in the trenches of battle with the opposition, many many people like to extend a helping hand.
And I was reminded of that, very thoughtfully, today. I was in a hearing, on a very routine, mundane matter that can be dismissed without the client there (I'll let you try to figure out what it is). When my client's name was called, I stood up, made my arguments, and got shot down by the judge on every one. I did my best, but just couldn't come up with anything she'd buy. But, before she ruled against me, she sat my case off to the side and said "we'll come back to this in a minute." I had no idea what was happening, so I went and sat back down and kept looking at what I had to try to find something that would work.
Then another attorney came over and sat down next to me, someone that I knew was very good at his job and that had a lot more experience dealing with the kinds of problems we were addressing. He introduced himself and asked if he could see what I was looking at. After about 10 seconds he looked back, pointed, and said "right there is a problem - bring this up and the case gets dismissed." I took the opportunity to ask him a couple of questions about what he showed me and some other things, and thanked him for his help.
When the judge called me back up I made the one last argument and the judge dismissed the case! She'd seen what he had seen and wanted to give me a chance to get a case dismissed that should have been dismissed. And she knew that the other attorney would come over and help me out to figure out what was wrong. And neither one of them had to do that.
I guess the point of my post is this. At some point we were all young attorneys, or just opened our criminal defense offices, or moved to a new area, or transitioned to a new area of law. And at some point we could have all used a couple of helpful hints on how to proceed on an issue. And, I hope, in a couple of years, I'll be able to hand out some helpful hints on how to proceed on an issue. The practice of law is not easy. A lot of answers are hidden out there like needles in haystacks. And it is your responsibility, if you know where the needles are hidden, to show others. Sure, they are competing with you, but if you have to worry about them taking all of your business, you are already fighting a losing battle.
The next time you have the opportunity to help someone else out in the industry, do it. It will make you feel better, it will make them feel better, and you'll probably make a new friend out of it. And, remember, the more friends you have, the better off your life, your practice, and your wallet will be.
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