Meditations from Micronesia: May 2008

Saturday, May 31, 2008

05-11-08 ~ MAY MUSINGS ~ HUMILITY

My muse this month has been Humility. When I think about it, the people I most admire all have one attribute in common you don't think of right off the bat when you look at the movers and shakers in the world: Humility. I'm not talking about religious and spiritual leaders here, not Jesus, or Gandhi or the Dalai Lama, or Mother Theresa. I'm talking about men and women of stature in the law, politics, the arts and sciences, the martial arts, sports ~ occupations that by their very nature tend to cultivate sizeable egos.

Most of my life, I have been accused of arrogance, and I cannot argue. But there is no time like the present to work on any particular defect of character, especially one as dangerous as lack of humility. Not too long ago I was tasked with an assignment: To define what humility means to me and to identify ways in which I can demonstrate humility. The first part I believe can be shared; the second part will be a life long endeavor, and I am certainly open to suggestion.

Where to begin. Humility ~ not to be confused with our modern understanding of words like servility, servitude, or humiliation ~ is a state of grace. To accept and surrender with grace to not only the vicissitudes of life, but also to life's rewards. It is a matter of surrender of the ego, of the self, to something greater than ourselves, what some have called "God consciousness." As between men, famed martial artist Bruce Lee said,

To be humble
to superiors is duty;
to equals is courtesy;
to inferiors is nobleness;
and to all, safety!

So, according to Bruce Lee, humility begins with the recognition of one's "place" in the world, in the social strata, which can be many things with the same person at different times. Viewing Bruce Lee's thoughts from the perspective of those who would judge others, those who would take issue with someone's humility ~ and say the person is not sufficiently or appropriately humble ~ must necessarily feel superior to another. But why even have such thoughts? What purpose does it serve to walk about the planet so full of one's self in this fashion?

Mutual and reciprocal courtesy among equals ~ and we are all equal ~ is among the sincerest demonstrations of humility. And what about this idea of "nobleness"? And the way we treat (and care for) our "inferiors." What is one to expect from one who is treated as a dog by his master? If Bruce Lee is correct, the master is not being humble when he humiliates and punishes a dog. And yet, we often treat one another that way (even, we have convinced ourselves, with the "noblest" of intentions). In fact, much of the time when we display anger or displeasure at a dog it is because the dog is not acting in a sufficiently "humble" (meaning servile) way. As the dog's master what we come to expect is not the "duty" that Bruce Lee talks about, but servitude and obedience. There is no nobility in that.

Here's another way to look at it: We know that people who are depressed or in pain or in fear will manifest those emotions in incongruous ways: isolation, withdrawal, anger, sarcasm, intolerance, lashing out. And when we see those emotions, we ought not react in kind, to the emotion, but should seek to understand its source, which is nothing but ... fear. A wounded animal seeking safety is often at her most dangerous when threatened. Yes? But a "superior" being, in Bruce Lee's sense of it, who is noble in his humilty understands that the animal's behavior comes not from arrogance, superiority or lack of humility, but from pain and fear. And that being the case, is it not incumbent upon those who are in a "superior" position to approach their "inferiors" in a noble way, or at the least as an equal to whom they should extend the courtesy of tolerance and love? Is that not the way a parent should be? Is that not what we hope for in a benevolent God? Is that not the way we would hope to be when we aspire to godliness?

The man who thinks he can live without others
is mistaken; the one who thinks others can't live
without him is even more deluded.

~ Hasidic Saying
To teach your children strength
You must be willing to appear weak
You must renounce ambition
and struggle
and embrace serenity and peace.
You must confess your faults
and embrace your failures.
You must face yourself with honesty
and find the truth of your nature.

~ Martin, The Parent's Tao Te Ching
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending.
You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds?
Lay first the foundation of humility.

~ Saint Augustine
That basic ingredient of all humilty,
a desire to seek and do God's will....

~ Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Humility does not mean thinking less
of yourself than of other people,
nor does it mean having a low opinion
of your own gifts. It means freedom
from thinking about yourself at all.

~ William Temple
If you think you can judge others,
you are wrong. When you judge them,
you are really judging yourself guilty,
because you do the same things they do.
God judges those who do wrong things,
and we know that his judging is right.

~ Romans 2:11
Where humility had formerly stood for
a forced feeding on humble pie
it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient
which can give us serenity.

~ Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
To bear defeat with dignity,
to accept criticism with poise,
to receive honors with humility
these are marks of maturity and graciousness.

~ William Arthur Ward
If every fool wore a crown,
we should all be kings.

~ Welsh Proverb
If I only had a little humility, I would be perfect.

~ Ted Turner

As expressed in most if not all religious and spiritual traditions, humility is an expression of one's relationship with one's higher power, that which some call God, though it has many names and is expressed in many ways. Humility recognizes that I cannot do it alone ~ that is, live life on life's terms. Humility may be the ultimate expression of my awareness of God, my higher power, that "God consciousness" thing. When we allow ourselves to admit that we are powerless over people, places and things, we are not giving up; we are merely recognizing our limitations ~ limitations that can never be overcome by ego and by arrogance ~ and it is only then that we can actually find a certain security, a serenity if you will, in the knowledge that we cannot do it alone ~ and were not meant to. I am finding that the more I work on my humility, the more liberated, empowered and enabled I become.

Whenever I question another man's humility, or my perception of his lack thereof, I am well-advised to examine myself first. If humility is a measure of my relationship with my higher power, then unless I believe myself to be God, it is never my place to judge. It is the manner in which we treat and care for one another which demonstrates the grace of our humility. I think I'm finally at a place in my life where I can truly say that I'm working on it. I didn't say I've got it. I said I'm working on it.

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace;
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.

~ Saint Francis of Assisi *
(baptized Giovanni di Bernadone ~ 1182 - 1226 A. D.)

* This prayer was not actually written by St. Francis, but is attributed to him, or written in tribute to him.

Everyone is familiar with the Serenity prayer:

God, Grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
To change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

A friend of mine who spent many years in law enforcement and was the sheriff of a sizeable county in the South before being "humbled," gave me some words of advice from his own experience confronting his own demons. He said, try saying the serenity prayer and substitute the word "humility" for the word "serenity." Try it. It's even more powerful that way, because it recognizes that more often than not I need help getting out of my own way so that I can grow emotionally and spiritually.

Humility is something I ask for every day. I'm not saying I always have it. Far from it. But I'm working on it. It's something I have to remind myself to ask for every day, so it is included in my daily meditations. Two more things working on this humility thing is teaching me: It is never too late to start. And I have time.

04-09-08 ~ GRATITUDE?

One of my daily meditations goes something like this:

God [insert Higher Power of your choosing or understanding]
Take my will and my life;
Guide me in my serenity, my humility and my gratitude; and
Show me how to live, how to love, and how to give.

Some of you may recognize its origin. My contribution is the addition of the phrases seeking guidance with respect to "humility" and "gratitude," "love" and "give." It works for me. The words are not always recited in the same order; usually one will have more pull than another at any given time.

I was talking with some friends the other day about gratitude. Most of us in this over-analytical and hyper-critical world can find multitudes of reasons to be unhappy. Me? I’ve got no woman in my life; my finances are in the dumpster; my son lives with his mother, so I’m not with him everyday; my job prospects at the end of the month are uncertain; I’m being sued in excess of my policy limits for a fender-bender I had in Saipan last year; my clothes don’t fit; my back hurts in the morning from sleeping on a futon on the floor; I think my landlord doesn’t like me; I’m driving a 12 year old gas guzzler; and I’ve got another 20 years to go before I can even dream of retiring. That’s just for starters.

And you know what? It just doesn’t matter. It doesn’t. Really.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m no Pollyana. But I have begun to look at the world and my place in it differently these days. And being grateful is something that — like a smile — is so easy to do; and when I do it — and just be grateful for being grateful — the world somehow seems to reciprocate. Bad drivers who cut me off don’t offend me the way they used to. I don’t think about getting even with those who’ve slighted me. All my cares and troubles don’t go away, but they somehow become considerably more manageable. I am far more tolerant and understanding of those around me and am so more likely to be able to reach out to people than I ever was before. All because I try to remember to be grateful. I don’t dwell miserably in the past the way I used to. I don’t would’a, could’a, should’a anymore. I don’t walk in fear of what tomorrow may bring, constantly steadying myself for inevitable catastrophe. All because I’ve learned a little humility and a little gratitude.

As of April 8, 2008, there were 51 people on MySpace whose username was "Gratitude." (It’s also the name of a band, so some could be fans, or the band itself.) Google the word "gratitude." I came up with 20.5M hits.There’s a lot of people onto something out there. That has to mean something. Doesn’t it? I’m not alone in this. And I’m grateful for that, too.

RANDOM COLLECTED QUOTES ~ GRATITUDE

A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.

*Joseph Addison

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

*Melody Beattie

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

*Henry Ward Beecher

Got no check books, got no banks. Still I’d like to express my thanks—I got the sun in the mornin’ and the moon at night.

*Irving Berlin

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.

*Ralph H. Blum

You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.

*Sarah Ban Breathnach

Every time we remember to say "thank you," we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.

*Sarah Ban Breathnach

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.

*Buddha

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

*Cicero

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the
gratefulness that makes us happy.

*Albert Clarke

Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.

*A. J. Cronin

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

*Dalai Lama

I feel a very unusual sensation. If it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.

*Benjamin Disraeli

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

*Meister Eckhardt

Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.

*Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

*Epictetus

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

*Johannes A. Gaertner

Find the good — and praise it.

*Alex Haley

Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.

*The Hausa of Nigeria

True thanksgiving means that we need to thank God for what He has done for us, and not to tell Him what we have done for Him.

*George R. Hendrick

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

*Eric Hoffer

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

*John Fitzgerald Kennedy

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.

*Rabbi Harold Kushner

What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it — would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.

*Ralph Marston

Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude.
Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness.
Thankfulness may consist merely of words.
Gratitude is shown in acts.

*David O. McKay

The sun was shining in my eyes, and I could barely see
To do the necessary task that was allotted me.
Resentment of the vivid glow, I started to complain—
When all at once upon the air I heard the blindman’s cane.

*Earl Musselman

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

*Friedrich Nietzsche

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

*Marcel Proust

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.

*Albert Schweitzer

Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.

*Seneca

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

*William A. Ward

When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude.

*Elie Wiesel

No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.

*Unknown

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.

*Unknown

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.
GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

*Unknown

RANDOM COLLECTED QUOTES ~ INGRATITUDE

Earth produces nothing worse than an ungrateful man. [Lat., Nil homine terra pejus ingrato creat.]

*Decimus Magnus Ausonius, Epigrams

That man may last, but never lives,
Who much receives, but nothing gives;
Whom none can love, whom none can thank,
— Creation’s blot, creation’s blank.

*Thomas Gibbons, When Jesus Dwelt

A man is very apt to complain of the ingratitude of those who have risen far above him.

*Samuel Johnson, Boswell’s Life of Johnson

You love a nothing when you love an ingrate. [Lat., Nihil amas, cum ingratum amas.]

*Plautus, Titus Maccius Plautus

He is ungrateful who denies that he has received a kindness which has been bestowed upon him; he is ungrateful who conceals it; he is ungrateful who makes no return for it; most ungrateful of all is he who forgets it. [Lat., Ingratus est, qui beneficium accepisse se negat, quod accepit: ingratus est, qui dissimulat; ingratus, qui non reddit; ingratissimus omnium, qui oblitus est.]

*Seneca, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, De Beneficiis

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude:
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.

*William Shakespeare, As You Like It

Ingratitude is monstrous;
and for the multitude to be ingrateful were to make a monster of the multitude;
of which we being members, should bring ourselves to be monstrous members.

*William Shakespeare, Coriolanus

This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For when the noble Caesar saw him stab,
Ingratitude, more strong than traitor’s arms,
Quite vanquished him.
Then burst his mighty heart;
And in his mantle muffling up his face,
Even at the base of Pompey’s statue,
Which all the while ran blood great Caesar fell.

*William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Ingratitude! thou marble-hearted fiend,
More hideous when thou show’st thee in a child
Than the sea-monster.

*William Shakespeare, King Lear

How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child! Away, away!

*William Shakespeare, King Lear

All the stored vengeances of heaven fall
On her ingrateful top!

*William Shakespeare, King Lear

What, wouldst thou have a serpent sting thee twice?

*William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

I hate ingratitude more in a man
Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness,
Or any taint of vie whose strong corruption
Inhabits our frail blood.

*William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, or, What You Will

One ungrateful man does an injury to all who are suffering. [Lat., Ingratus unus miseris omnibus nocet.]

*Syrus, Publilius Syrus, Maxims

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good . . . .

*Timothy 3:1-3

He that’s ungrateful has no guilt but one;
All other crimes may pass for virtues in him.

*Edward Young, Busiris

04-07-08 ~ MUSINGS OF A MIDDLE-AGED LAW CLERK

In February of 1985, I returned to Tuscaloosa, Alabama from taking the Alabama Bar Exam in Montgomery. My then-wife, now a part-time municipal judge in Selma, Alabama announced that I’d been called for an interview for a job as a part-time law clerk with a domestic relations judge -- divorce, child custody, child support, juvenile dependency, delinquency and "in need of supervision" cases. Good deal. I needed a job, and F.Lee Bailey wasn’t knocking down my door, so I took it. (One of us is showing their age if you don’t know who F.Lee Bailey is.)

Clerking for a judge fresh out of law school, I thought I learned a lot about what goes on "behind closed doors," so to speak. But I was still very young and inexperienced, and easily impressed. I also hadn’t really come into my own in terms of researching and writing THE LAW, or being able to identify and resolve issues. And the practice of law and its application was still relatively "academic" for me. It wasn’t until I took the judge that I had clerked for up on appeal in an appointed case that I really began to appreciate the "art of law." I lost that case.

A few years after passing the Bar and getting my head handed to me by more experienced (and influential) local lawyers in Tuscaloosa, I got a job in the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, Civil Litigation Division, in Montgomery. Among my first clients was a judge who had fired his confidential secretary who turned around and sued him, alleging he violated her first amendment right for firing her because she was attempting to speak out on matters of public concern and also because she was also exercising her right to freedom of association by helping a friend of hers get an ex parte divorce and temporary restraining order against the judge’s brother, in another county. I wound up winning that case on appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

For some reason, I developed a bit of an expertise in representing judges who were sued for one reason or another, and developed quite a little clientele of judges around the state. (Which made it very easy to remember my clients’ names, as they were all named "Judge.") They say that doctors make the worst patients, and I can tell you that judges make the worst clients (followed closely by ordinary lawyers like myself). Anyway, it wasn’t long that judges around the state were asking for me by name when they got sued.

Now, representing judges can be easy in some cases, but takes quite a lot of work in others, depending on who’s on the other side and what kind of relief they’re seeking. But the biggest thing I learned from representing judges in litigation is that they’re people, like me and you, and they put their pants on one leg at a time. "We’re all just human," they say in Pohnpei. So are judges.

And now, more than 20 years after becoming a licensed lawyer in Alabama, and practicing law on behalf of the governments of Alabama, the FSM, Guam and the CNMI, I’m clerking for a judge while I await the results of another Bar exam, in Guam. And the experience is quite different. It’s pure law again, but without all the confrontational testosterone-infused hostility and acrimony that comes with the American adversary system. What I do is research and write preliminary drafts of judicial decisions and orders for the judge. But it isn’t just academic, or an extension of what I learned in law school.

Real lives are at stake. With direction from the judge, I have to decide who’s right, and more importantly, why. Also, more often than not, because the lawyers are in adversary-advocacy mode, they sometimes miss the forest for the trees. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some very good lawyering, and some downright poor and mediocre lawyering. But a judge’s job, and her clerk’s, is to first do justice. It’s not a popularity contest, and it’s not always about who’s the better lawyer (although as an advocate it sometimes feels that way).

This is a job that’s usually done by young law school graduates fresh out of school, who don’t have the background and experience I do as an advocate. There is a difference in what I bring to the job now than I would have or could have brought 20-some years ago. It’s not all academic anymore. I’ve been in the trenches, and I’ve duked it out with good lawyers and bad. And I always thought I had an eye on the judge (and his or her law clerk). But being on this side of the Bar is different now; and it’s trite, but I’ve really begun to appreciate how difficult (and unappreciated) a judge’s job can be.

When I first got on the job I had a tendency to want to upbraid bad and lazy lawyering in the drafts of the opinions I gave the judge. But that grows old, fast. The bad and lazy lawyers probably don’t even know who they are, and judicial chastisement would have little effect on the quality of their future endeavors.

There’s a difference between taking pride in the quality of one’s work and just plain old ego that all lawyers share. Good lawyers are constantly trying to improve the quality of their writing and advocacy. The judges and the Bar know who they are. Bad, lazy and mediocre lawyers tend to blame "the system," or think the judge has a personal problem with them (or so they tell their clients). That’s just plain ego and self-centeredness. The best lawyers I know exhibit a humility I have seen only rarely.

The truth is that judges I’ve known -- because I clerked for them, appeared in front of them, represented, or knew socially -- just don’t have time or inclination to use their office as a political or personal payback. Judges appreciate good lawyering, good advocacy, truthfulness and candor, because it makes their jobs easier. As a lawyer, have I sometimes gotten a raw deal because the judge got up on the wrong side of the bed (or his wife did), or was just obtuse? Yes. Guess what? That’s life. Deal with it. It comes with the job. And your job is to help the judge get past that.

I wish I could give you examples of cases where bad and mediocre lawyering make my job as a law clerk more cumbersome because the lawyer’s client deserved to win but his or her lawyer didn’t bother (or didn’t know how) to do the work required (which left it to the judge (i.e., me) to do). Because of confidentiality concerns, it’s inappropriate for me to be specific. Sometimes what is the right thing to do is so obvious, or the law is so clear, that no amount of bad lawyering will sway the judge in the other direction. But where it’s close, the lawyer who puts in the extra effort will be appreciated.

Y’know, lawyers want to win, and judges don’t like to be reversed. It makes more work for everyone, and the one who suffers in the long run is the client, as well as the judicial system in general, and lawyers’ reputation as a whole in particular. I view a large part of my job as trying to make sure that what I say makes sense not only to the lawyers, not only to the clients, but to the public as well. And also to the appellate court that may be reviewing what the judge decides. For the most part, judges don’t have "agendas." Sure, they may have leanings one way or another based upon their own values as individuals and as professionals. But the "judicial activism" we all hear about is more a bug-a-bear than reality. And remember, the trial judge you’re appearing in front of is usually just the first stop in the road.

Here are some tips for lawyers out there I don’t think any judge would mind me sharing, in no particular order:

-- Don’t write a half-baked memorandum of law and expect to "wow" the judge at oral argument. By the time the judge (or law clerk) sets down to decide and write a decision or order, they’ll likely have forgotten your phenomenal oratory. I have heard more than one appellate and trial level judge comment that oral argument rarely decides the case for them unless they have questions about the record or some finer nuance of policy.

-- Take pride in your writing. If you’re not a good writer, learn to write well. How? First, by reading, reading, reading good writers. Find lawyers and judges whom you admire and read their stuff. Figure out how they make their point and emulate what they do. Second, write, write, write. I’ve learned from writing experts that if you want to learn to write, the first thing you must do is ... write. Learning to write well is a lifetime endeavor. These are tools of your profession. As one judge I tremendously respect and admire once said, "We are Wordsmiths." Be one.

-- Find an editor, no matter how good you think you are, someone whose writing you like, someone with a critical and unbiased eye who can tell you where to cut surplusage, or where you’re not making a point clearly. Sloppy writing reflects sloppy lawyering and makes more work for everyone. (You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve gone back to admire my handiwork in this blog and found new typos I’ve had to correct since it was first posted.)

-- Know your audience. As like as not, unless the judge is an expert in a particular area of law, you’re writing to the judge and to his or her clerk, who may be fresh out of law school. Don’t assume they’re as brilliant and knowledgeable as you are (unless you know already that they are). For lawyers, your audience is: the court; the court’s law clerk; opposing counsel; your client; the public; and the appellate court you’ll probably wind up in. Not always in that order. For the court (or me anyway) the audience is: my judge; the appellate court above me; the lawyers and litigants; and the public (media). And not always, but usually, in that order either. Regardless of who you’re addressing, remember that your job is to educate.

-- Understand the internal workings of the court you’re addressing. Clerks usually work for no more than a year at a time. A case you argued may change clerks’ hands, and sometimes judges, more than once before it’s decided. If the judge you’re waiting on has a reputation for taking too long in issuing a decision, ask what your part it in may be. Was your brief or memorandum clear, cogent, concise? Or does it ramble and get thrown on the "to be addressed later" pile? If you were the judge, would you want to read what you wrote?

-- If you’re citing and quoting from an unpublished opinion that’s not available on a legal database like Westlaw, attach a copy. Don’t make the law clerk and judge’s staff run around the courthouse looking for an old superior court or trial court opinion from some foreign land that may be locked away in storage in another building somewhere.

-- Know the law before you sit down to write. This means your research should be done before you’ve sat down to draft that first complaint or answer or motion to dismiss. The law will shape your argument -- not the other way around. This way, you’ll be able to anticipate arguments that will be coming your way. This is critical. Lawyering isn’t a seat-of-the pants kind of thing. It is a deliberate process that requires the acquired skill of planning out contingencies. Knowing the law before you sit down to advise your client is so basic, but I’ve seen the same mistakes made over and over, usually by lawyers who blame "the system" or politics or personalities instead of understanding they never had a case or argument to being with. Along these lines, understand that good litigation is strategical and logistical. If you don’t have a military background, read "The Art of War" by Sun Tsu, and "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi.

-- Appreciate the value of the Blue Book. It serves an important purpose. It’s a citation format designed for lawyers and the judges to check your sources. Sloppy Blue Booking is a sign of sloppy lawyering elsewhere. If you cite a case, I want to know what jurisdiction it’s from, what year it was decided, and what page the cite or quote is from, usually in that order.

-- Read the cases you cite. (This is so basic.) Don’t cite an ALR or Law Review article or just pull blurbs from them. Go to the source and quote or cite from there.

-- Develop a reputation for candor. I mean a real reputation. Don’t say a principle of law is "universally accepted" when in fact it’s only a mere majority of the courts deciding an issue that have accepted it. Don’t play fast and loose with the facts or the holding of a case you cite. We do check them. Even if opposing counsel hasn’t caught you, the judge and his or her clerk will, because it’s their reputation on the line when they prepare to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). And I know more than one judge that isn’t above taking a lawyer to task in a written opinion in order to make an example of him or her, as well as let the client know they’ve been disserved.

-- Acknowledge adverse authority and distinguish it if you can, but acknowledge it before opposing counsel brings it to the court’s attention (or the judge’s law clerk finds it). Your reputation will depend upon it. You don’t want a reputation as a lawyer whose cites have to be double-checked for everything you do. If you mis-state the law, your facts will be suspect too. And that can make all the difference in a close case.

-- Appreciate the value of the court’s time. Don’t waste it with "everything in the kitchen sink" arguments, hoping if you throw enough stuff at the court, some of it will stick. It won’t. Weak arguments detract from the good ones. And put your best arguments first. If the court or the court’s law clerk has to wade through mediocre argument to get to the good stuff you’ve already lost them.

-- Give yourself plenty of time. This means start your research and investigation right way when a matter comes to your desk. Don’t wait to the last minute. If a brief or memo is due in two weeks, get it done in one week, so you can have time to let it rest, and you can reflect and edit it with a fresh eye.

-- Emulate good lawyers. If you’re very young in the profession, find a mentor. Don’t wait for them to find you; seek them out. If you’ve been out a while, find a mentor. You’re never to old to learn from the experience of others. Some of the most successful lawyers I know had mentors that they would call on when they thought people weren’t looking. Always be a student. And if you’ve got something to share as a lawyer, then mentor young lawyers. Pass it on. It’s part of your professional responsibility.

There’s nothing original here. But a lot of lawyers just don’t get it. As for me, I’m really enjoying what I’m doing at the moment, and I know it’ll make me a better lawyer. If you’re a lawyer reading this, or someone thinking about becoming a lawyer, I hope this is helpful.

04-06-08 ~ SPIRITUALITY, NOT RELIGION

Today, I rented the video "Conversations with God," the movie, based on the writing of the book "Conversations with God, an uncommon dialog," by Neale Donald Walsch. I've had the book on my shelves for some time, but never took the time to read it at length. I thought maybe the video would inspire me to pick up the book again. The movie was OK; I can't recommend the book, only becaues I haven't read it in its entirety; but I can say it was highly recommended to me by people whose spirituality impresses me, and when I flip through it, I like what I read.

Here's a passage from the book, picked entirely at random (God speaking in italics):

A thing is only right or wrong because you say it is. A thing is not right or wrong instrinsically.

It isn't?

"Rightness or "wrongness" is not an intrinsic condition, it is a subjective judgment in a personal value system. By your subjective judgments do you create your Self--by your personal values do you determine and demonstrate Who You Are.

The world exists exactly as it is so that you may make these judgments. If the world existed in perfect condition, your life process of Self creation would be terminated. It would end. A lawyer's career would end tomorrow were there no more litigation. A doctor's career would end tomorrow were there no more illness. A philosopher's career would end tomorrow were there no more questions.

It got me thinking about a little piece on spirituality I came across on the Net about six months ago, that at this moment in my life, I feel I can really identify with. Here it is:

Twelve Signs of Spiritual Awakening

1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than make them
happen.
2. Frequent attacks of smiling.
3. Feelings of being connected with others and nature.
4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears
based on experience.

6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
7. A loss of ability to worry.
8. A loss of interest in conflict.
9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
10. A loss of interest in judging others.
11. A loss of interest in judging self.
12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything in return.

Source ~ Unknown

There's another version of the "Twelve Signs of Spiritual Awakening," written by Geoffrey Hoppe and Tobias which is a lot heavier, but worth examining.

There is, I am learning, a lot to be said for prayer and meditation. Meditation, I have learned, is about learning to listen. Prayer, I am told but had never done until recently, isn't about asking for tangible things, but about asking to be shown the way, whatever that way may be. I never used to pray, I was never really taught how. But I do now, in my own way.

Twelve-step groups, like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and all the other Anonymouses (Anonymi?), including Al-Anon, Narc-Anon, etc., place a tremendous amount of stock in differentiating between spirituality and religion. I've heard it said that "religion is for those seeking to avoid going to hell; spirtuality is for those who've been there." For myself, I am, and have never been religious; but I always felt I was spiritual. Or I thought I was. Whatever I thought that meant at the time, so long as it didn't mean subscribing to any particular faith, sect or denomination. But not believing in organized religion isn't the same thing as being spirtual. Spirituality actually takes work, practice, daily maintenance.

There are a number of 12-Step Prayers I've come in contact with in the last few years through friends who are in various recovery programs that are worth checking out. Although directed to people with problems of addiction, the prayers are in fact universal, and all one needs to do is substitute whatever is most troubling them in their life for the references to drugs and alcohol. (Some of the most spiritual people I know are people who are recovering from drugs and alcohol or other addictive behaviors.)

And if you've got a thing about the word "God," then try substituting "higher power" or whatever floats your boat as long as it recognizes that there is more to this life and what goes on in it than is dreamt of in your philosophy. Because one of our biggest problems in the spiritual malaise that has always been with us is the idea that we, ourselves, are omnipotent and don't need anyone else. We're not. And we're not supposed to be. And we do. And frankly, that's quite a load off, when you think about it.

03-25-08 ~ UN-ORIGINAL THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT (Hey, I didn't invent the thing.)

AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

When you're already in the majority, it may be difficult to fathom why anyone would need the protections of the establishment clause of the first amendment. Or why you should even care.

First they went after the Communists,
and I did not stand up, because I was not a Communist.
Then they went after the homosexuals and infirm,
and I did not stand up, because I was neither.
Then they went after the Jews,
and I did not stand up, because I was not a Jew.
Then they went after the Catholics,
and I did not stand up, because I was Protestant.
Finally, they went after me,
and there was no one left to stand up for me.

Pastor Martin Neimoller, 1945
German Evangelical (Lutheran) Church

If you are in the majority, imagine what it might be like not to be. And if you're still having difficulty with that, keep thinking about it.

Oh, the Protestants hate the Catholics
And the Catholics hate the Protestants,
And the Hindus hate the Moslems,
And everybody hates the Jews.

But during National Brotherhood Week,
National Brotherhood Week,
It's National Everyone-Smile-At-One-Another-Hood Week.
Be nice to people who
Are inferior to you.
It's only for a week, so have no fear;
Be grateful that it doesn't last all year!

Tom Lehrer, 1965
"National Brotherhood Week"
from the album "That Was the Year that Was"

Trite it may be, but as true today as when it was proposed, the first amendment protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority.

None of this is original. When I have something new to say, or a new way to say what's been said before, you may hear from me again.

"Can't we all just get along?" Rodney King, 1992

Finally, to those who argue the issue should be decided by majority rule, I can only say this: The establishment clause may not be popular with the majority in this country, but then, the majority has never needed its protections.