Silence is Golden

Sometimes, it's better to say nothing.  I was in court last week with a new opposing counsel (the client's third lawyer), and my client.  The Master asked us about the issues, and the new attorney was off and running.  She asked for a child's best interest attorney for the almost 17 year old child.  The Master asked whether that attorney had been paid on the last go round, and I said my client had paid her share, but the other side had not.  The other attorney didn't deny this fact, just kept pushing for the attorney to be reappointed.  As you might expect, the Master was not inclined to sign that attorney up for involuntary servitude, and the attorney was not offering any funds up front.  Her client simply wanted what he wanted.  What was I doing while she was on her tear?  Standing there quietly.  The Master did not reappoint the attorney.  I showed up at court 5 days later, and the Sheriff who was on duty in the courtroom that day commented on how that other attorney just was bound and determined not to let me get a word in edgewise.  I smiled and said that sometimes it's better to say nothing.  The Sheriff smiled and agreed.  I bet the Master did too.  Many times, the attorney who is all bluster and spitting fire is not the winner at the end of the day, and not the winner in the legal and judicial communities.  In every legal community, the members know to which lawyer they should attend when they speak.  They also know which members are full of piss and vinegar and that their diatribes should be either ignored or taken with a grain of salt.  Newcomers may worry when they are the object of the latter's scorn, and fear for their reputations in the community, but they needn't fret.  It's not as bad as they think, especially to those in the know.  Good works in the community and fair dealing with others win out in the end.  Here in the Trenches.