I’ve been a lawyer for 20 years now. When I was a new lawyer I thought lawyers who were in practice as long as I have been were ancient. I was right.
I recently enjoyed an out of Court examination with a relatively young lawyer. That lawyer didn’t know the rules that govern examinations and as a result she was surprised to learn that it was over when I said it was over. This was of particular embarrassment to her as she felt the need to bring the Official Examiner into the Room only to have that person explain, in front of clients for both sides, that I was right.
I’m not always right, I’m old enough to admit that. However, the years of experience I have mean I generally know what I don’t know and won’t risk embarrassing myself in front of others.
That encounter lead me to consider how much knowledge I have accumulated over the years and how that is an advantage for clients.
There is a role for junior lawyers, but many times, there is no substitution for the perspective a season veteran brings to a file. Generally that reduces the amount of legal fees spent assessing a situation as well as experience allows me to cut to the chase quickly.
Of course, thinking back to the junior lawyer I was 20 years ago, I would have discounted this blog (wait, we didn’t blog back then) as irrelevant, believing hours of work on a file would equal experience. I was not right.