Opposing Counsel — a reading

A Worthy Opponent

There's a lawyer on the other side today who fights you hard and treats you well, and both of those things are true at once, without contradiction. This is Justice in its cleanest form — the adversarial system working exactly as intended, two people genuinely trying to get it right, sharpened by each other rather than diminished.

A fair fight is still a fight, and it can still be a gift. Extend the same good faith you're hoping to receive, and notice how much smoother the whole day moves when nobody's performing outrage for an audience.

what may cross your path

Opposing counsel extends a courtesy — a filing extension, a heads-up call — that costs them nothing and saves you a scramble.

You find yourselves agreeing on a stipulation in under five minutes because neither of you is playing games.

A hard-fought hearing ends with a genuine handshake, win or lose.

You catch yourself thinking 'I'd hire her in a heartbeat if I ever needed outside counsel.'

Fight the case hard and treat the person across the table well — the two are not in tension, whatever the war stories suggest.

I can be fierce and fair in the same breath.

fairnessmutual respectbalanceprofessionalismintegrity

Per My Last Email

An email chain turns into a public paper trail neither side actually needs, and somewhere in the third 'per my last email,' the case stopped being about the client and started being about who wins the thread. Justice's balance tips here — the adversarial system curdling into scorekeeping, fairness replaced by the small, petty satisfaction of being right in writing.

Most of what escalates on the page dissolves in thirty seconds of an actual phone call. The case deserves your full fight. The inbox doesn't.

what may cross your path

An email chain turns into a public paper trail neither of you actually needs.

You cc a third person on a message purely so there's a witness to your righteousness.

A simple scheduling ask turns into a three-day standoff over principle.

You catch yourself drafting a reply you'd never actually say to their face.

Pick up the phone before the fourth email — most of what escalates in writing dissolves in thirty seconds of actual conversation.

I can win the case without needing to win the email chain.

pettinessgamesmanshipscore-settlingescalationspite