It never ceases to amaze me that people think lawyers just charge a lot to sit there and talk. It looks so easy on TV. The fact is, lawyers go to school not to learn the law, we go to school to learn how to think like lawyers. Trial is a mental chess game, everything said or done is preceded by careful consideration of what the opposing counsel is thinking or will do with that information (how he may try to discredit it, use it, spin it, or simply object to it) and what the trial lawyer will do when his opponent makes that move.

Here is my analogy (it is important to note, I am 5’10”): I love basketball, I watch college and NBA games, I played in high school (yes small school – small player, I get it) and if Jason Kidd were to offer to play a game of one on one, I would jump at the opportunity. But I would NEVER think for a moment I would win that game. He is (was) paid millions to play the game, he is a professional who has practiced it and learned it so well, he can anticipate my every move before I even consider what I will do next. I will loose that game, I am supposed to loose that game, he is a profession, I am not.