That day I was a new intern going up to the floor in the courthouse where all the court rooms were. Next to me in the elevator, was standing Mark Rushinsky.
He had gotten an internship at a prestigious law firm in the same year I started mine. There he was in the elevator going to his first trial!!!!!!!
What was remarkable was he was
accompanied by his boss, the head of the firm! His boss was there to mentor him and save him from being thrown to the wolves
by the experienced lawyer for the other side Oh, how I envied Mark Rushinsky. He had a mentor! A Protector! Mark began his life as a lawyer at the age of 25. I began mine at the age of 40. Life experience didn’t make a difference. You’re learning on the job. But inexperience can make it a very painful process. Especially if there’s no one like Mark's boss to mentor you and save you from your own inexperience.
On the other hand, it's amazing what the brain can come up with when faced with potential disaster!
Lesson #1 I had to call the other lawyer in the file to arrange a meeting. “Hi, I’m Claire Bernstein. Let’s meet at my office to discuss the case.” His reply completely threw me. “How old are you?” I could only think of one reply. “How old do you like them!”
Dead Silence. and then.....
I had so flustered the senior lawyer with my response that he came to me!
Later on someone in my law office explained what the other lawyer meant. When you’re in negotiation mode, whoever is less senior in years of practice
is the one who goes to the office of the other lawyer! Lesson 2 My first boardroom meeting. I was all spruced up, looking very professional But one thing gave me away... The other lawyers were all holding their million dollar alligator briefcases
I was holding my daughter’s grade 3 red cardboard school bag! The smiles on the other lawyers' faces remained fixed. But their eyes gave them away. They popped!
Not a very auspicious beginning!!!!!!!!!
Without any preparation, I was thrust into the heat of the "Battle of the Boardroom." Every time I contradicted one of the 'Hotshots', he responded with, “Very interesting!” I was a great success! Every lawyer found what I said, “Very interesting.” When we all walked out of the meeting, it suddenly hit me.
“Very interesting” really stood for “You’re full of hot shit!!!”
Lesson#3 At the time of my internship, if a woman was strong, she was immediately labelled as 'aggressive.' Translation? -----you pick! So six months into my one-year long internship, I finally figured out a survival strategy. I decided that I would adopt the opposite persona to the stereotypical one. "Meek. Mild. Submissive."
And prefaced every negotiation meeting with....
”I believe in being fair. Don’t you?” Since every lawyer had gone to Sunday school (or Saturday school as the case might be),
they immediately switched to 'being kind' to this 'weak, helpless woman.'
Result? I came away with double the expected amount for my client!
Did I learn anything from these experiences?
"Yeah, a couple of things." Don't think of "what's proper" Just think "the work-around!"
In the final analysis, what always works,
"Just be yourself.....and enjoy the moment!"
Let the quote by Iris Apfel, 97-year old fashionista and Wise One,
guide you as it does me:
"If you can't have fun you might as well be dead!"
And if it's a horrible, horrible disaster,
Remember the quote:
"Failure is never fatal. And Success is never forever!"
