This past week was busy, since it was the first full week of prep for the upcoming mock trial. Having to build two entire cases in chief from scratch in such a short time is an interesting challenge. Interesting in the sense that, because we will be trying the case as both plaintiff and defendant, we have to look at the case from both points of view. So every time you find (or think you find) something useful or valuable for one side, you immediately have to think of how you’d counter it from the other side. I imagine that most trial lawyers do this already, to make sure they’re not blindsided by anything the other side tries to pull in court. It’s a fun assignment and I’ve enjoyed working with my partner Jessica and my coach David Marsey. I’m looking forward to heading down to Orlando next week to actually put on the trial in front of everyone.

As far as substantive assignments went last week, the most interesting one I handled was reviewing an opposing party’s brief for Linda Bond Edwards. I was somewhat surprised at some of the more liberal claims made in their brief. Some of the statements and arguments made in the brief made me think the other side was just a little too casual with their attention to detail concerning the facts and case law. It made me think how often this kind of thing occurs. Everyone knows judges are busy. Anybody who’s sat in on a judge’s courtroom knows they often know the basic facts of a case simply because they don’t have time to learn more. So I have to imagine that this kind of corner cutting happens more than we’d like, simply because courts lack the time and resources to check people on it. That said, I doubt it was done on purpose. After all, lawyers are just as busy as judges. But it just goes to show that the old adage of measure twice, cut once still has some merit, even in a time when we have virtually every case in existence at our fingertips. 

As the summer winds down, I’ve started looking back on my time at RK and it’s still strange to think that it’s almost over. It’s somewhat surreal to think of all the things I’ve been able to work on in such a short amount of time. Thinking back on it all, one thing which stood out was how demanding managing a full caseload can be and in turn how impressive it is that all of the people I’ve worked with are all able to do so. Keeping tabs on all the various assignments one has is no easy feat I’ve learned. These are the kinds of things they can’t teach you in law school. I can only hope that with time and experience my abilities match theirs, and I’m thankful that during my brief period here I’ve been able to cut my teeth, if only for a short while.