If you practice in a small town, sooner or later, you’re going to tear your britches with the prosecutor or the judge. Sometimes, you tear your britches with both. Me? I’ll take the 5th (as always). In a big city, this is not so much of a problem. Prosecutors come and go, and your cases are probably so spread out that you may not see that pesky judge for awhile. In the big city, things can cool off organically. The conveyor belt of problems will often quickly remove yesterday’s problem with today’s, then tomorrow’s. And as a learned attorney in Nacogdoches once said, “Time is a soothing balm.”
However, in a small town, time’s soothing balm may not always be so soothing. You may be dealing with that judge or prosecutor for the next 20 years or more. Literally! In my experience, rural practitioners seem to have a long memory. So, what do you do when you get crossways with the powers that be? Telling them to just go to hell doesn’t work in the long run. Unfortunately, and inextricably, they hold the keys to what ultimately happens to your clients. In my experience, there are three things that you can do to mend fences when things go south.
If you are wrong, admit it. No one likes to admit when they have made a mistake. But, hey, we’re all human. You may perceive that admitting when you made an error bruises your public perception. On the contrary, it enhances it. The worst thing you can do is wrongfully blame someone else, make excuses, etc. This makes you look far weaker in the long run. If you make a mistake, own up to it.
If they are wrong, don’t rub it in. Just as the rationale for #1, we are all human. If they don’t realize their mistake, you can point it out gracefully without making them lose face. If they own up to it, don’t rub it in. As stated before, you may be dealing with these people for a long, long time. Be graceful and dignified about their mistakes, just as you should be with yours.
Whether it is 1 or 2, don’t let your emotions dictate how you respond. This is probably the toughest advice to follow. Whether it’s extreme anger or fear, it is best not to show this to the other side. When I first started practicing, I often needed to leave the courthouse and drive around the block to cool off. One time, I almost hit my colleague driving around doing the same thing (I’m not kidding). With today’s zoom hearings, it’s even easier. Just mute your app, turn off the video, and let loose. Compose yourself and boogie on.
We are all going to be in this position sooner or later. Avoid the temptation to act like a jackass. Because our jobs inherently involve conflict, at some point in time, some fences will need mending. But our actions determine whether we need a small repair or if we need to fix the whole damn fence! If you practice in a small town, you probably are doing so to avoid the big-city headaches. I’ll take our unique rural problems over the big city headaches any day! I hope this helps you a little when you suit up and take on the state – even if only from the waist up in our current age of Zoom. Take care, good luck, and have fun!
