Wednesday, May 03, 2006
I just spent three hours this evening interviewing a lawyer for a piece I'm doing for Spree. I'd figured about a half an hour would do it, but he was glad to talk, and I was glad to listen. I must have started to leave three or four times, but then I would ask something, or he'd recall something, and we'd be off again.
I wish I could give the case we were talking about the full John McPhee treatment: it was an epic set of trials and appeals, and I'm really only going to be able to give the readers of the ultimate piece a taste. The personalities were huge, the issues were complex, and the stakes were high. What I came away with this evening was twofold: I was grateful to the lawyer I was interviewing for his taking the time to talk to me, first of all. More than that though, I was impressed with his deep affection for his late partner, the man who tried the case that he second chaired. Lots of people practice law with people that they don't like; this man was blessed, much as I am and have been, by being able to practice with someone he liked and respected.
I love my writing gig with Spree, but I don't do as much shoe-leather reporting as I ought. Today I did, and my reward was to get a good feeling about our glamour profession. A colleague shared some of his time with me about a case that was a formative experience in his life, and the take-away he had from what must have been a gruelling experience was "The system works". Beyond that, I got a little insight into a fond relationship. It won't work into my piece, I don't think, but it was good to be reminded that we don't always wear our game faces-- and neither do our adversaries.
I wish I could give the case we were talking about the full John McPhee treatment: it was an epic set of trials and appeals, and I'm really only going to be able to give the readers of the ultimate piece a taste. The personalities were huge, the issues were complex, and the stakes were high. What I came away with this evening was twofold: I was grateful to the lawyer I was interviewing for his taking the time to talk to me, first of all. More than that though, I was impressed with his deep affection for his late partner, the man who tried the case that he second chaired. Lots of people practice law with people that they don't like; this man was blessed, much as I am and have been, by being able to practice with someone he liked and respected.
I love my writing gig with Spree, but I don't do as much shoe-leather reporting as I ought. Today I did, and my reward was to get a good feeling about our glamour profession. A colleague shared some of his time with me about a case that was a formative experience in his life, and the take-away he had from what must have been a gruelling experience was "The system works". Beyond that, I got a little insight into a fond relationship. It won't work into my piece, I don't think, but it was good to be reminded that we don't always wear our game faces-- and neither do our adversaries.
// posted by Bill @ 9:31 PM 
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