Reflections On the Job

May 17, 2002

By: Lynn J. Harris

The Daily Journal

When I graduated law school less than two years ago, I knew then that I just wanted to write and do research for a civil litigation firm. No criminal defense, no insurance defense. As a law student contemplating legal practice, these were "nonnegotiable" requisites for my future employment as an attorney.

Unlike many of my law-school classmates, I had no interest in partaking in the messy factual disputes that permeate most general litigation practice.

As for the area of law and the type of lawyers with whom I was to work, my attitude basically was, If they allow me to write, I don't care, as long as they are not members of the criminal or insurance defense bars, of course.

At the time, I had very little exposure to the practice of law and very little accurate information about lawyers. My only sources of information were media depictions of the profession and generalized anti-lawyer public sentiments.

As a result, I simply adopted the fallacious stereotypes and prejudices about defense litigation generally, and insurance defense in particular, as my own.

Not wanting to become the unscrupulous, defending-the-establishment defense lawyer, I was certain I never would accept a position with an insurance defense firm.

When I was offered the chance to work in the law-and-motion and appellate practice groups at a large firm that handled primarily insurance defense, these lofty notions and my self-imposed career limitations went right out the proverbial window.

I jumped at the chance to work exclusively on appellate and law-and-motion matters. When I accepted the position at my firm, I did not appreciate how rare it is for a law firm to devote an entire department to law-and-motion and appellate practices.

I also did not realize how uncommon it was for a young attorney, right out of law school, to be offered an opportunity to work solely on law-and-motion and appellate matters.

Although I accepted the position and began work with a bit of trepidation as to my role as a defense attorney, I soon was disabused of my inaccurate, preconceived ideas about the practice of insurance defense.

I learned that these black-and-white, good-guy-versus-bad-guy notions, which are pervasive both inside and outside the legal profession, rarely reflect real practitioners.

The misperceptions to which I fell victim in law school had led me to believe that, if a lawsuit was filed, it necessarily meant that someone had been wronged.

It did not take long to realize how, in many cases, one has little to do with the other. I was surprised to find that on many, if not most, occasions, the clients my firm represented had not done the things alleged.

From this, I learned that "defendant" does not necessarily mean "wrongdoer" and "plaintiff" does not necessarily mean "someone who has been the victim of wrongdoing."

I now know that not every lawsuit filed has merit. This truth is well-known and accepted among practitioners. Why is it not taught in law school?

If it were, more law students might be inclined to pursue careers as civil defense attorneys. And, it would not come as such a surprise to new lawyers like me to learn that, sometimes, the defendant was the victim - even if it is an insurance company.

Now, as a law-and-motion associate, I consider myself very lucky that I get to do the work I do.

As a virtual research-and-writing junkie, always holed up in my office or the library, when the time came to make my first appearance in court, I absolutely hated it.

That was more than a year ago. Today, I am grateful for the opportunity to make the appearances on the motions I prepare. Every day, I appreciate how rare it is for attorneys my age to argue the merits of the motions they draft.

Law-and-motion practice offers many challenges and rewards. I am continually surprised by the variety of work I do and excited about its significance.

After prevailing on two summary judgment motions on elder/residential care issues earlier this year, I have an even greater understanding of the importance of law-and-motion practice.

Contrary to popular belief, law-and-motion work involves more than handling small, discrete, technical or procedural issues. Sometimes it can result in a final disposition of the case.

In winning a summary judgment motion, the victory belongs to the law-and-motion attorney just as much as it belongs to the trial attorney.

I am now in the process of preparing for my first appeal, something I never imagined I would get to do as a new admittee. Then again, I never imagined I would find professional fulfillment at an insurance defense firm.

Who knew?