30 lessons learned by a two-month Associate lawyer

1. Never believe anything an opponent throws at you. More often than not, they’re serving a selfish purpose. VERIFY!
2. Lawyers rarely pick up tabs, rarer than a Philippine Eagle. It should have been rarer than a T-rex.
3. You should always have a red line and an orange line; lines that you should never cross. Or if you do cross it (depending on the circumstance), it doesn’t mean that you should erase it.
4. Coffee is your best friend; deadlines are your worst enemies.
5. It’s a profession of appearance, so- APPEAR!
6. Do not be worried that your friends will ask for discount for notarial services, they’re often the ones who will pay the exact amount. I don’t know why but it’s true.
7. Balls of steel, nerves of ice. If you don’t have these, you’re in the wrong place.
8. Prepare, prepare, PREPARE!
9. If a judge eats you alive in court, you probably did not follow number 8.
10. Always have a pen; or at least the Iphone’s trusty voice memo.
11. Observe office hours, meaning you should be at the office by 9. Oh, by the way, office hours begin at 8:30 (late ka na!) and end whenever it ends. Lunch break depends on a client’s wristwatch and not yours. Court starts by 8.
12. Learn to save; believe me, there will be days when an Affidavit of Loss will save you from walking all the way home…to Toril.
13. Work hard; rest harder. Your sanity depends on it.
14. Observe margins: on your pleadings, your schedule, your finances, your life.
15. Count your blessings…because when all is said and done, you’re really, really blessed.
16. You’re a Christian who happens to be a lawyer. When in doubt about your profession, remember this!
17. Humility in victory, pride in defeat. In a compromise, be sure that you win! (Hehehe…)
18. There will be days when you’d like to NOT be a lawyer. My advise- go home and then come to the office the next day. Simple.
19. There will be clients who will be very difficult. If they’re REALLY difficult, say goodbye to your fees and refer them to other lawyers. If you can’t, a good effort is better than none. (Capisce?) Oh, btw, numbers 18 and 19 usually go together.
20. Legal problems will sprout like mushrooms whenever you’re around, problems that you did not know existed before. Well, it comes with the territory. Advise? Make mushroom soup.
21. Always take the first narration of facts by your client with a grain of salt. There will be things that they won’t tell you and sometimes, they will even lie straight to your face. Call them on it! It will save everyone’s time and effort the next time.
22. No one comes to a lawyer when everything’s fine. Negativity abounds. Be sure to stay positive. Nothing’s final until the Supreme Court says so.
23. War consists of several battles. Count your victories by the battles fought.
24. A lawyer is worth every penny he’s charging to the client. If you’re not, make sure that you become one as you address the client’s case. Ayaw kaulaw paningil…you’re charging them not merely by the span of time that you entertain them but also by the amount of time that they occupy your thoughts. You are also charging for the missed laag, missed parties, missed opportunities, girlfriends-that-you-would-have-had-otherwise, sleepless nights, heavy books- things that you did, or did not do, during law school. You are also charging them for the gallons of coffee that you are consuming so that you can read whatever you have to read, for the increasing creases on your forehead, and for that butterfly in your stomach every time you discover that your client lied to you…and most of all, they’re paying you for your future hospital bills.
25. A lawyer is not the panacea of all legal ills. You can’t solve everything. Just be sure that you gave your best effort. That’s the only assurance you can give. The rest is up to the Court and God.
26. You need a car- really! Preferably one with a built-in parking space. Hehehe….
27. Just because you’re a lawyer doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re better than anybody. If you have to be better at anything, be better at humility.
28. Truth is so sacred that it has to have a bodyguard of lies…or so one judge says. Hmmm….
29. If you think that reading is for law school only, think again. You probably have to read more because practice is now not just a question of law but more of facts. Hala, sige, try mo sagutin ang kaso mo na puro medical terms ang gamit nga wala’y basa-basa….mao na, BASA!!!!
30. ENJOY!