Dear Emily Post

A little lesson in etiquette.   When you go to the courthouse, a lot of people work there.  Most of them don't wear a black robe.  Following me so far?  Now a quick quiz.  Who are more important; the people in the black robes or the other people who work there?  If you said the people in the black robes, you would not only be wrong, you would be making a big mistake.  The most important people at a courthouse are not the judges, but all the other people who work there.  Those of us here in the Trenches know that (and if we don't, we're probably not people you want to represent you).  Judges and those of us in the Trenches know three things:  first, the people who do all the work that makes the courthouse run smoothly and well are not the judges.  Judges make the decisions, but the people who manage the mountains of paperwork, make sure the exhibits are marked and safeguarded, record the proceedings, file the papers, type the opinions, manage the schedule....(you get the picture) are everyone else.  Second, people who are not nice to the people who do all the work but are nice to those who make the decisions are generally not nice people.  Third, the people who do all the work talk to the people who make the decisions.  These three things mean a lot to you, and if they don't, they should.  The take away is that if you want things to go smoothly for you at the courthouse, you need to be nice to the people who don't matter.  Because they do.