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Personal life update: first victory.

TheOriginalHappyGoat

TheOriginalHappyGoat

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Oct 4, 2010
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I thought Wissler might like to know that my life was going just fine now, so here's an update (without divulging any attorney-client secrets, of course).

You might remember that my inaugural criminal defense case was a misdemeanor animal care ordinance violation. Some people are under the impression that a "victory" in a criminal case is a not guilty verdict, but there are other forms of victory. Thanks to my persuasive skills (and I mean persuading both animal care and my client), I was able to turn a sure loss that would have had devastating effects on my client into a consent order that will only cause her minor annoyances. Not a perfect outcome, but there is no doubt that she would have been far worse off if I hadn't signed on. Feels pretty good, to be honest with you.

Now, I've got a busy rest of the afternoon scheduled, which involves filing an appearance for a new case and doing some other research. Having a full day scheduled also feels good.

goat
 
And I thought people in financial services were bad

There is nothing worse than an irresponsible pet owner except an irresponsible parent.

This post was edited on 4/15 2:37 PM by mjvcaj
 
It's complicated.

Sometimes someone gets railroaded because they don't understand the law, and how it applies to them. My client was absolutely not accused of animal abuse.

I visited her and examined her animals before I agreed to take the case.

Why can't you just be happy for me, Debbie Downer???
dead.r191677.gif
 
When I was young . . .

and in private practice, I had a neighborhood kid who got arrested for DUI come to me for help. I got him deferred prosecution by getting him into a treatment program . . . 3 times. The 4th time, I didn't take his call.

Sometimes "good" results are good . . . sometimes they're bad . . . and sometimes they're just delaying the inevitable.

But I think your "good" result is a good one . . . congrats. Oh, and what happened to your client, it's not your fault.
 
Sorry to burst your bubble but what you have described was a negotiated settlement. It was not a victory but in fact an agreement in the best interests of all concerned. A little humility for the purpose of future success is in order.
PS a hearing is by no stretch of imagination a trial. Keep up the good work and soon you will become a true lawyer. It just takes time.
This post was edited on 4/15 8:10 PM by davegolf
 
Goat



You need to apply to get into the PD or Prosecutor Office to get some trial experience if you are going to continue on your own. The experience and connections would be invaluable for the future growth of your practice.
 
I'm glad for you.

I never called you a failure. I said I was tired of hearing you talk about yourself. Which you do. A lot. And you've made no secret of the fact that you've stumbled along the way.

But truly - I'm glad for you. You've worked hard to become a lawyer and I'm sure you're a good one, or will be. I like stories where hard work pays off.

And now, back to the insults.....
 
All good stories have stumbling blocks.

If I didn't struggle at all, I wouldn't tell any stories, because they'd just be bragging. What I'm trying to do is very hard, and I expect it to be tough.

Insults away!
 
nonsense

I don't think Goat ever suggested that his hearing was a trial.

As for a negotiated settlement not being a victory, that is an idiotic statement to make. As for humility, life can be rather pointless if you don't take the time to celebrate victories no matter what their size.
 
Congratulations goat

You're gonna be a good lawyer.

This post was edited on 4/16 7:12 AM by NPT
 
Congrats! And, although I'm sure that you are, ignore the critics and naysayers around here. It is, in fact, a victory in every sense of the word. Obtaining a "victory" for your client most often does not mean obtaining an acquittal or civil verdict in complete favor of your client. Even in a lot of criminal cases, an acquittal is not possible or, sometimes, not even worth the effort.

As a simplistic example, consider your run-of-the-mill DUI case. Depending on the circumstances, a "victory" could mean negotiating it down to a failure to control or reckless driving deal. In most cases, your client would probably be delighted to have an outcome like that. In other instances, a "victory" could mean keeping your client out of jail (e.g., it's a second DUI offense).

Or, how about Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. What does a "victory" at trial mean to him? I would think that he would be pretty pleased with a sentence of 30 years to life (or whatever the minimum sentence would be for a murder conviction). They had no serious defense to murder that they could offer, so the defense strategy was all geared towards preventing a death sentence.

These very same principles apply in civil matters as well, sometimes working in the opposite direction. For example, if I have a start-up client that seeks my advice regarding whether or not the trademark they want to use might infringe someone else's mark. I view my job as not only trying to avoid a finding of infringement if they are sued but also to try to avoid a suit ever being filed in the first place. Even if they have an outstanding defense to a claim of trademark infringement by, for example, a Fortune100 company, they still "lose" if they are sued. As a start-up, they would not be able to afford defending such a lawsuit, so they would usually end up switching to a different name if they are sued for trademark infringement. In that instance, they "lose" without every even stepping foot in a courtroom.

I have worked on only one criminal case in my 20+ year legal career, and it involved a charge of criminal trademark counterfeiting (I was co-counsel with an experienced criminal defense attorney). Our client was a legal U.S. resident, but not an American citizen, and he had three children (U.S. citizens) in college. A felony conviction would have likely resulted in his deportation. I thought we had a very good shot at an acquittal, but it was going to be very expensive. A competent defense at trial would have bankrupted him, but he probably would have pressed on in order to avoid deportation. We (well, primarily my criminal defense colleague) were able to get the charges reduced to a misdemeanor, and without our client spending all that much for our work. Making that call to him was one of the more rewarding things I have done in my career, and he was incredibly grateful of the outcome. I count that one as a big "victory" for our client for the simple reason that, even though he ended up with a misdemeanor conviction, it was clearly the best possible outcome for him. And isn't that what matters above all else?

I think you probably knew all of that, but I thought it might help to mention some things. Just remember, your clients' financial realities and their own valuation of the potential outcomes matter just as much as the legal merits of their case. In fact, they are all of equal importance.
 
Yep. In fact, show me someone who has never stumbled many...


many times during their career and I'll show you an extreme underachiever destined for mediocrity (at best).

And when things look tough, just remind yourself that you went to one of the finest law schools in the world!
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