Why You Never Know What Your Opponent Is Dealing With…

I want to relate to you an experience I had regarding an opposing attorney the other day.
We were in front of a Judge for a Pre-Trial conference in an auto injury case.
My client was rear ended by his client and we filed suit.

Case will be heard by a jury in a couple months.

Both of us got there about 20 minutes early so we were just waiting around outside the Judges chambers killing time.
Waiting for the judge to call us into his chambers.
After talking about the U.S. Open, the NBA championship and the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, the attorney told me something that just blew my mind.

He said that his 25-year-old daughter with their three children just moved in with him.
His daughters husband died tragically and unexpectedly.
His daughter was desperate and needed help .
So he voluntarily told his daughter and her three children to move in with him.

He is 65 years old. His 3 grandchildren are all less than five years old.

Anyone care to guess how much work and stress is involved in helping watch three children under the age of five years old when you’re 65 years old?
Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully can only fathom how hard that must be.

Then on top of all of that and the physical exhaustion of helping to care for three children he has to go to work every day and put in a full days work.

I am almost ashamed to admit that his stress level is 100% higher than that of Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully.
I mean I come home, have dinner and generally relax. I do office work at night but it is not too stressful.
Not so with this auto insurance defense attorney.

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I equate the auto insurance industry with the Evil Empire.
And it’s only in half jest I say that.
But I never have a problem with the attorneys who represent the auto insurance companies.
Those individuals are generally very competent, honorable and fair.
In fact not one them has ever tried to sandbag me.

They are given an assignment to do and they do it to the best of their ability.
The point of this whole blog is to remember an old Indian saying:
Never make judgments about another person until you walk a mile in his moccasins.

This fine attorney is working double time at his office job and family life. He has extremely big moccasins to fill.
It honestly makes me proud to be an attorney.

Heck I even told him at the end of our talk that I promise not to take any cheap shots at him during trial. Ha ha.

I guess the other part of this blog is you just never know about people and what they are going through.
Not even attorneys.

Thanks for reading.

BERNIE the Attorney.