How Much Experience Do We Have?
Or maybe the question should be, “Why are we so lucky when it comes to getting good settlements and jury verdicts for our clients?”
Below is my answer to both questions. But first, a short story…
I finished up a Mandatory Settlement Conference and was leaving the Orange County courthouse. In the lobby, I was stopped by someone who asked if I was a lawyer and if so, could I answer a question for him.
After getting this very nice young man going in the right direction with resolving his legal issue, he thanked me and asked for my card. He then asked, “how long have you been practicing law and how much experience do you have?”
I responded that Lisa and I have been practicing law for about 30 years and we’ve pretty much seen it all. During the drive back to the office, I started thinking about the specifics. After arriving, I sat down and crunched the rough numbers. What I saw blew me away:
- 124,800 hours of combined experience practicing law (the real number is probably more)
- 2,640 hours of combined court and jury trials. This number jumps up to 5,200+ if you take pre-trial preparation into consideration
- 2,000 hours of combined mediations and arbitrations (again, probably more)
- Tens of millions of dollars of settlements, judgments, and verdicts
Time flies when you’re having fun. Lisa and I talked about this and it seems like we opened the doors to our practice just last year and not way back in 1986.
The fact of the matter is that in the legal profession, gaining “real world” experience takes time. I think this applies to most businesses. If you’re just starting out and not happy with the results you’re getting for your customers or clients, my advice is to be patient, never stop learning, and keep trying.
Writing this post reminded me of a favorite quote:
“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” -Gary Player
We’re here for you if you ever need us. All you have to do is call :-)
