Jim Vickaryous

Serendipity caused my path to come across an old friend. We shared some news and a couple of legal stories. I learned something new about the law, and also remembered what a sharp lawyer my friend is. I even felt smarter after the conversation. I got to thinking afterwards, how much all of us have missed from the common social interactions that we have taken for granted over our lifetimes. A lunch, a dinner, a friendly person-to-person talk, being able to see someone smile at your bad jokes. Even waiting for a cattle-call hearing, you would get to chat with other lawyers giving advice and accepting advice. Human beings can’t help but learn something from each social interaction we have. I have gained a great deal from serendipitous social interactions over the decades. Many of my friendships have started from chance meetings. The knowledge gained from these years of relationships can be formidable in a lawyer’s skill set.  When these random interactions stop, we lose a great deal of skill as lawyers.

One of the greatest skills a lawyer can have is being profoundly related to others. It’s a force multiplier. Being related to others means being in communication with them. It means seeking to understand the needs of others by listening to them. Related also means being able to communicate your needs and the needs of your clients to others. It’s a form of empathy. Being related takes a commitment of time and requires focus. It used to mean getting out of your home and office and being involved in the community. Zoom and other virtual meeting tools have expanded this definition. Law practices, courts, and the law itself, must live somewhere. If you’re a lawyer that doesn’t have any connection to the “somewhere” where the people that the law applies to live, you are not able to give the best advice to your clients.