Let’s rewind 2 decades to one of my early trials.
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My client is accused of trying to run his estranged wife over with his truck.
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A major pretrial issue is whether the prosecutor will be able to get my client’s criminal history into the trial. I file a motion in limine to exclude it, which the judge hears on the morning of trial.
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We spend 30+ minutes arguing about the issue, and the judge rules in my favor. My client is watching the show, and I assume that he understands the judge’s ruling - his criminal record is out.
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I’m feeling pretty good about myself, having kicked the veteran prosecutor’s ass with my motion.
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So, while I’m still feeling like hot stuff, I call my client to the stand in the defense case.
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Seconds into the direct examination, I ask, “When did you first meet your wife?”
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Client: “It would have been right after I got out of prison for my last assault charge.”
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🤦‍♀️
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My assumption that the client understood the ruling is very, very wrong. And suddenly, my client is now vulnerable to cross examination on his record.
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I want to crawl under counsel’s table and hide. Meanwhile, the judge is sitting on the bench grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and the prosecutor is salivating while he anticipates his brutal cross examination.
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I’m so embarrassed. Humiliated, really.
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I’m a kid lawyer, the only woman in the courtroom, and my cocky self is about to get my ass handed to me because I didn’t take 5 minutes to make sure my client understood what had happened earlier.
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Here’s the thing:
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My client is found not guilty.
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Afterwards, the jury tells us that his honesty about his history helped them to believe his version of the story.
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Not all of my mistakes have had this type of happy ending. I’ve made plenty of mistakes that have cost me. But none of my mistakes have killed me or my career. I’m still here, ready to learn from my inevitable future mistakes.

You're going to make mistakes in your career, too.

And you're going to survive them, learn from them, and become a better lawyer because of them.

Have a great (and hopefully short!) week.

-Keeley

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