And That's Why He's the Judge

Today, I had a hearing in front of one of my favorite judges (and people).  Luckily, we settled the case, with a little guidance from the judge concerning his view of the matter.  What struck me was what he said at the end.  For those of you who haven't been in the Trenches, any time an agreement is placed on the record in open court, the judge voir dires (literally, latin for "to speak the truth."  It is the preliminary examination made by a judge) the parties to determine that they understood the agreement, agreed with the agreement of their own free will, had all of their questions answered by their lawyers or the court, and were satisfied with the explanations.  When he questioned my client, she said she agreed "with reservations."  What she meant (and we found out from further questioning), is that she really didn't understand all the procedural stuff that went on in a court case,and found it very confusing, even though she understood the terms of the agreement.  That started the judge talking about what it is we do in the Trenches.  What he said was that because clients don't understand the procedural aspects of what it is lawyers do in court, they think it's really difficult.  Lawyers know that even though it requires a lot of effort to get things ready, it is one of the easier things we do; we gather the information, put it in front of the judge in an understandable manner and let the chips fall where they may.  We have no investment in the outcome, other than hoping the judge sees our client's side of the case. What the judge then went on to say that the real skill of a lawyer is in settling a case.  To settle a case, lawyer must understand not only their side, but also the other side of the case, know the law, understand the people and the options and have a ton of creativity.  It requires a lot of thinking on your feet and seeing all the moving parts.  It's the hard part of the job, and one clients don't often appreciate, but as the judge said correctly, it is the hardest part of the job.  Any lawyer who can read the statutes and the rules can try a case (albeit with varying levels of proficiency and success); it takes a true advocate and counselor at law to settle a case.  Thank you Judge.