My First Trial - A Collaboration Masterclass
I spent the last week in Seattle for my first trial, and I’m finally recovered enough from the sleep deprivation to reflect on it. The aesthetics were a funny blend of the grotesque and the fabulous. Everyone in sharp suits, but none of us bathed. (Actually, the journalists in the room showed more of a temperament for moderation, showing up both clean and in soft cardigans where we were dirty in tailored suiting). As one of the senior lawyers on my team remarked when it was all over, “I’m just glad the press headlines didn’t read, ‘entire legal team ripe.’”
We weren’t clean because we weren’t sleeping a lot. There was zero chance anyone was going to exchange ten minutes of sleep for a shower, at least not since the advent of dry shampoo. At one point a male lawyer on the team asked a female lawyer we work with whether opposing counsel’s hair was in a bun “as a power move.” Well, probably not, although she certainly looked powerful in a swept-up bun and a burgundy suit. (The look was a great match for her persuasive opening argument). But the bun was likely there to hide the fact that in the midst of this relentless trial, she hadn’t had time to shower.
The work itself was similarly a blend of glamorous and tedious. We worked with big, exciting ideas, collaborating with smart people to shape sentences, describe the law, and develop strategy. We also spent painstaking hours fussing over details of witness preparation, pleadings, and evidence. Although the results were worth it, it was at times mind-numbing, eye-aching work. It was made tolerable by a team of lawyers and paralegals who were an absolute treat to work with, and there was plenty of laughter amidst the adrenaline and exhaustion.
The best, and worst, part of the week for me was the breaking apart and putting back together of a dispositive motion I’d been working on for weeks. I got to work under great pressure with some of the best legal minds I’ve ever encountered. I had to take criticism on no sleep. I got to push myself past what I thought my boundaries were in terms of effective writing. I had to puzzle over a single paragraph for hours. Overall, the experience was both humbling and encouraging. Humbling because I realized that what I think of as my best work can be so dramatically improved, and I still have so much to learn. That’s a good feeling, because it means I’ll never get bored. And encouraging because it was further evidence that my very favorite type of work—the pure law, legal theory and philosophy part of the practice of law—is something that I excel at and something that, if I continue to develop, I will get to do more and more of. In fact, the motion ended up (I’m not sure how) on the desk of a senior member of my firm who does mostly appellate practice, and opened the door for future collaboration.
I am hungry for the next trial. But a week at home has also helped me see the costs of being away from my family and my routine. Fortunately, I had my service dog Rory with me in Seattle, so he helped me stay grounded. Walking him for an hour each day provided a much-needed respite from what was otherwise non-stop work. I’m now thinking about what kind of rituals I might adopt in the future to help me reenter family life in a way that supports what all of us need and brings us feeling close together quickly. Leaving my spouse to parent solo for a week is not a small thing, and I’m still thinking through the best ways to be a supportive partner when I am not physically present.
What is the best experience of intense collaboration you have ever had, in work or in life? And how did you come down from it and reintegrate into your everyday life? I would love to know.
