Thoughts On Losing
I have but a single thought on losing: It sucks. I hate it, and I have a hard time getting past it. Thankfully, it doesn't happen all that often.
My fiancee's parents live next door to a lawyer I have known for many years, and used to clerk for. He lost a 2.8 million dollar judgment in a civil case. My future father-in-law likes to tease him about it. He doesn't mean anything by it- he isn't an attorney and doesn't understand that what he is doing is the legal equivalent of cracking jokes to Bill Buckner about the ball that went between his legs in the 1986 World Series, causing the Red Sox to lose Game 6 and ultimately the Championship.
Here are noted trial lawyer Paul Luvera's thoughts on losing, which I think gives a window into how trial lawyers really feel when they lose.
Everybody loses sometimes. Ted Williams hit over .400 and got to the Hall of Fame. He failed to get a hit 60% of the time. It happens to everyone (except, apparently, Gerry Spence) including me. But I don't have to like it, and I won't.
