Greece Will Break Your Heart

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you know that Greece has defaulted on their loans to the World Bank, their people voted to decline the EU's bailout offer because the EU required greater austerity on their part, the Greek banks are still shuttered, and tomorrow, the EU is voting on whether to expel Greece.  Yet, Greece's people and government are declaring victory.  I think the EU was wrong to think that greater austerity was going to be the answer for Greece's woes.  Hear me out.  As a result of the huge recession in which Greece finds itself, the country has already imposed austerity on its people. Austerity isn't working.  The EU, however, figures that because more austerity would work for most of its members, it will work for Greece.  Unfortunately, fewer people actually pay their taxes in Greece than in most other nations and on top of that, corruption is rampant.  Their poverty rate is one of the highest in Europe.  Extravagance is not their problem.  So, how will more austerity help? Yet,  the World Bank and the EU persist.

No, this is not a political blog, and I am in no way expressing an opinion as to what should happen in Greece.  What's going on with Greece is, however, is just like what happens in the Trenches.  The  EU and the World Bank figure that if they do the same thing they always did, something different will happen in Greece. What about Greece?  They're declaring victory while their economy is still in the toilet and they have no plan to change what they did that got them into this mess.  It's kind of like divorcing someone, then marrying the exact same kind of person.  Or maybe it's like engaging in behavior that ends your marriage, then after your next marriage, engaging in the same behavior.  It's guaranteed to bring you back to my office, that's for sure, but it won't solve what brought you there.

What about the lawyers here in the Trenches?  Most are terrific, but many are incredibly like the EU and the World Bank.  To them. a case is a case is a case.  There's no difference between one and another.  All clients are the same.  Therefore, there's only one way to handle a case - their way. What the client wants and the case needs doesn't matter.  It's too much effort to actually dig deep and help the client find the process that works for them.  Some of their clients are happy, but most are at least vaguely dissatisfied.   I have a lot of cases in my office.  Some of them are litigated.  Some are mediated.  For some, the clients work it out and get advice as they need it.  Still others are collaborated.  All of the processes are chosen to fit the needs of the client and the case.  One size does not fit all, not in Greece, and not here in the Trenches.