Which Superhero to Choose?

Let's revisit Women of a Certain Age, shall we?  As you might recall, I resolved my nightly discomfort by wearing Under Armour to bed.  Actually, I resolved it by wearing a particular Under Armour shirt to bed.  Another friend chose a Nike Dri Fit shirt.  We were as snug as bugs in a rug.  Then, we decided to branch out.  I wore a different Under Armour shirt to bed.  it didn't cover my shoulders, the fabric wasn't quite the same, and neither was my sleep.  Great shirt in which to run, but I had moments of intense heat and sweat when I slept in it.  Not as much as with other clothing, but more than with my other shirt.  Then, I decided to  try a moisture wicking shirt from a different manufacturer.  It was much cheaper than the Under Armour, but it said it was moisture wicking.  Sheer disaster.  I tossed and turned all night.  My friend with the Dri Fit?  Well, she too decided to try a cheaper version, with the same disastrous results. There are two morals of the story here.  First, you get what you pay for.  Second, even when you pay more, sometimes what you get is not right for you.

Whoever would have thought that menopause fit into the Trenches?  My shirt story parallels choosing a lawyer.  Prospective clients call my office and when I quote them my rate, they tell me some other lawyer said they could or would do it for less.  There are lots of reasons why that might be, and I have discussed them before.  The most usual reason is that the other attorney has less experience in legal practice.  What that means is that they may and probably are perfectly competent to handle simpler legal matters, but that they don't have experience in more complicated cases.  It may be that they haven't tried that many cases or that they haven't been out of law school and practicing law as long.  As a result it may either take them longer to do things or they may not know the nuances of what they need to do.  They're still family law attorneys, just like all the shirts are moisture wicking, but there's a difference in quality and performance that affects satisfaction.  (Sometimes, you get a gem who is fabulous and cheap, but they're really hard to find).

Sometimes, you can hire the "best" attorney in town and still be unhappy with the performance.  Does that meant thee attorney is somehow not as good as others?  No, it  does not.  As I have said before and will continue to say until my last breath, the lawyer and client relationship is extremely personal.  Whether it works or not is as much a matter of  personal fit as it is skill.  If the best attorney in town doesn't communicate in a way the client can understand, or wants to follow a course of action  that doesn't mesh with the client's needs, the client will not be happy - period.   That's why Under Armour has multiple styles of shirts and fabrics; even though they are at the top of the ladder in moisture wicking gear, not all of their shirts work for everybody, just like with me.  Just like with lawyers.  Here in the Trenches.