Jim Vickaryous

Diligence comes in many different packages, depending on the circumstances. I once met a new client who quickly outlined their problem. It was a simple matter, but important enough to this client that it needed the attention of a lawyer. I knew the opposing party. Indeed, I had just gotten off the telephone with the opposing party resolving another matter. I let my new client know this, and asked, “Do you mind if I call the opposing party right now and see if we can figure this all out?” In a moment, we were on the telephone, agreed to a solution, and had finalized the case. My client was very pleased, thinking that I must resolve every client’s problem as fast as hers. I laughed at myself a little bit and shared with her that this was the one and only time in my career that I had resolved a matter within an hour of meeting my client. Years later, this is still the case.

Everyone expects quick results in today’s marketplace. In the legal world, being quick can be detrimental. Diligence is not a timestamp. Diligence itself can take some time, just to get all of the facts to come to a legal opinion to render to a client or court. Frustratingly, sometimes after much research there is no good answer, and the best advice is an educated guess. Indeed, the motto on the Florida Supreme Court’s seal states: Sat Cito Si Recte, or “Soon enough if correct.” Diligence is both doing the work and taking the time to be both correct and prompt.