“What is it like, being a litigator?”
I have been asked that question more times than I can count. I guess its the byproduct of practicing in a profession gilded with drama and prestige by countless movies and TV shows. Or maybe its the result of branding myself with a byword for deceit and hypocrisy. Regardless of the animus, I love the question for the opportunity it presents to reflect on my (bad?) life choices.
My answer to that question varies depending on the day. When I am enjoying my practice and managing my stress appropriately, I respond with, “its the greatest job in the world because I get paid to fight for people who genuinely need my help.” Less often (hopefully), I respond more cynically with something like, “imagine spending your day screaming at strangers about people’s problems. It’s like that. It is that.”
Either way I phrase it, the heart of what I’m trying to convey is the same: I am awash in conflict I didn’t create. Sometimes I love it; sometimes it makes me want to smash my phone with my face.
Although the cycle of conflict is my choice and mine to own, the conflicts swirling in the cycle are not. If a lawsuit goes poorly, it may be a hit to my reputation or (Heaven help me!) my pride, but it' is my clients who live with the consequences. If all goes well, I get paid, close my case, enjoy a few fist bumps from colleagues, and move on to the next conflict.
Maybe I feel some losses more than others and revel in some victories a bit more, and there is satisfaction inherent in advocacy for others. But I don’t experience the consequences in the same way my clients do. They own the conflict, and they own the ending, whatever it may be.
Because I don’t own the dispute, perhaps the most important discussion I can have with my clients is about what they really want. Money, justice, changing the world, revenge, whatever. I’m fine with those motivations, but I need to know to help my clients get the right ending—or more accurately—to help them choose the right ending.
Litigants don’t get to make many meaningful choices. One party chooses to file suit, and the rest is process and procedure. At least until the end.
In the end, the clients get to choose how to bring it all to resolution: trial, arbitration, mediation, pretend its not happening and default. Of those options, choosing mediation is the only way for the clients to choose the outcome.
Mediation is the tool for litigants to get control back from the procedure and to assert their will over the process. They get to evaluate the relative merits of their claim versus the opposition, and they get to hear my thoughts and the thoughts of our mediator. Armed with that information, they decide if there is a “right outcome” both sides can accept.
Mediation doesn’t always end in a deal, and it isn’t right for every case. Mediating one case or all cases won’t end my litigator’s cycle of conflict. But in many cases, it can bring an end for my clients, and they get to choose it. That choice of outcomes, is both empowering and satisfying.
Jeremy Seeley is an attorney practicing in civil litigation, including mediation, at Plant, Christensen & Kanell.
**Disclaimer: this blog post does not constitute legal advice specific to you or your situation, and is not intended to form an attorney-client relationship.