"They don't drive it. They don't manage it. They don't control it. They let it control them. And then one day, they look up and realize discovery closed last week, the client is asking why nobody has taken the key depo, the adjuster wants a status report "by the end of the day," and the partner is asking the question that makes your stomach drop: "Where are we on this file?""
"Start With The End Before you do anything, do the thing nobody does: Start with the end. Not a trial. Not summary judgment. The end. What is the best realistic outcome for your client? What is the worst? What does "winning" look like in this jurisdiction, with this judge, with this plaintiff, with this venue? What's the hill we're trying to take? If you don't know the hill, you'll be sprinting in random directions until you collapse."
Most young lawyers lose cases because they fail to run and control files rather than from lack of legal knowledge. Each file must be owned: treat the file as assigned to you and take responsibility. Convert casework into workflows, checklists, and decision trees to stop reacting and start directing litigation. Begin every matter by defining realistic best and worst outcomes and what winning looks like in the specific jurisdiction, judge, plaintiff, and venue. Read the complaint repeatedly, identify the material legal elements, facts provable now, facts to prove later, and facts that cannot be proved. Distill a one-sentence case theme and triage the first 72 hours.
Read at Above the Law
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]