Don't hate, hater.

In Boston Legal ("Tortured Souls" Season 1), there is a moment, when William Shatner, as Denny Crane, is trying to convince his colleague to take a especially despicable client where he delivers this line:

Alan, c’mon, we hate all our clients. It’s good to hate, allows us to overcharge and still sleep at night  

Do lawyers hate their clients?

A client can really get in the way of doing the legal work. I mean, we lawyes go to law school to argue in court, conduct trials, and write briefs. And that is hard to do when the pesky client keeps calling and interrupting us to ask, "Have you heard anything yet?"

The mistake here is that the legal stuff is not the real work, especially in Family Law. The work is the relationships we build with the people who come to us with their concerns and their trust.

I don't hate my clients - they are the people who make what I do in this profession meaningful.

Vanity. Definitely my Favorite Sin

At the close of the the 1997 film, Devil's Advocate, Al Pacino, playing Satan, closes with this line:

From the Super Lawyers website

Vanity. Definitely my favorite sin.

There's no surprise that Devil's Advocate was about lawyers. What's funny though is that there is an industry built around exploiting this "sin".

For weeks I have been dodging a really official sounding woman - better to say, saleswoman - calling to congratulate me on being selected to be included in their Super Lawyers list. I didn't know I was up for this honor. Who did this to me! Reveal yourself!

Today, I got a copy of the Oklahoma edition of the Super Lawyers magazine. So I guess they have different magazine for each jurisdiction. (too many super lawyers for just one publication)

I also got the most important part of the Super Lawyers honor in the form of an opportunity to order my own certificate for $ 199 plus $ 16 shipping and handling or $ 259 plus $ 20 shipping and handling for a plaque.

Hey, this isn't just for lawyers. Have you ever been in the newspaper? There is a company out there that will frame your story, and send it to you. I did this once and the plaque is leaning against the wall in the office. Come see it, I'm important and so are you- but I have a plaque.