Taking a Final Break

Do you remember when you were in college or business school and it was steady week? At Cornell they used to give us about a week in between the end of classes and the start of final exams. That week was called study week and of course some people (those that were diligent), would use the week to review all of their course notes so has to be as well prepared for their exams as possible. And then there were other people who used that week to “read a course“, which is to say, do as much of the work and reading that they had ignored or avoided for the entire semester so that they had some clue when sitting in front of their exam paper. I remember study week as very special time during the academic year. No one was in class, and everyone was crowding into the libraries, trying to do whatever they could to make the best of their semester grades as possible. In some ways, it was funny to see the indignation of the people who had frequented the library throughout the semester, and now found the lazy interlopers who had neither attended class nor seen the inside of the library during the semester, suddenly sitting in their regular study carols. That week was perhaps the most social week of the semester since the Riggers of academia we’re all coming to bear in the same way on the good the bad and the unprepared.

I am thinking of study week because I am now in my fifth week of reviewing the materials for this case, which is going to trial a week from now and for which I am one of the expert witnesses. There is no two ways about it, this is exactly like college because it is about reading, taking notes on your reading, summarizing notes, memorizing notes, and doing it all over and over again to lock in as much information as your mind can possibly hold. I have found it interesting that the muscle memory of learning has not left me over the last 50+ years. There were always smarter people than me in college and there were certainly those who were more diligent, but I was always a decent student who made good use of study week, and for the most part never left that week to do all the work of the semester, but rather used it for its intended purpose of review. The initial work on this case and the report writing was like something I did in the fall semester.(in reality three years ago). The last five weeks have been the equivalent of going to class over the spring semester. I am now facing my last week before the trial and this week will all be about drilling down and filling in the gaps on small details that I discover as a pick apart my report and go through a process of self examination.

One of the things about expert witness work is that it is a very solitary process. I imagine it’s a lot like remote learning these days. I don’t have classes of people around me. I don’t really even have a professor standing in front of me to listen to. I suppose that makes it a bit more like graduate study and that I do meet once a week with the lawyers as they poke and prod at my dissertation. But those lawyers have their own work to do, and I can tell that they appreciate my maturity in this process because they are increasingly leaning on me to ask them questions rather than vice versa. I just wrote them an email telling them how and why I feel strong on the central issues of the case and the two more esoteric aspects of the case that I feel that I need to work on in the coming week. I’ve mentioned it in such a way as to say that if they have any suggestions, they would be appreciated, but otherwise I will plumb the depths of the evidentiary material I have to fill those gaps in the absence of any specific direction from them. In some ways, I feel sorry for these young lawyers because where I have a very defined set of tasks and knowledge to familiarize myself with for this trial, they have a far broader body of information and far more uncertainty about what will come in the trial and I find Their stress to be almost palpable. Our last conversation was while they were all in their cars heading off for the Labor Day weekend trying their best to have a life that goes beyond their work. Well, I enjoy my expert witness work a great deal, I do not envy them their burden and the pressure they are under to succeed in this trial.

That all said, I’ve come to the conclusion that just like the partying that takes place on campus in the one or two days following the end of classes and before study week begins, I am probably well served to take a few days off for my study program to refresh my mind and prepare for the last push to the finish line. Therefore, I have decided that I will celebrate Kim‘s return to our hilltop today and avoid looking at my notes and iPad other than to read the news and perhaps write another story. And then tomorrow I will celebrate Labor Day specifically by using it for its intended purpose, which is to give my laborers a break for the moment. I will try and help prepare for our little barbecue (15 people) and will endeavor to put away my work papers for the day and plan to take them up again on Tuesday when I will bury myself once again in the library, carols and immerse myself in the minutia of the case.

When I was in school, I suppose I could say that study and learning was its own reward, but the truth of the matter was that we were always working towards something whether it was just grades or, more likely, a view to what grades would lead to in terms of future successes. Now, as an expert witness, I am being paid to study. I am being paid to prepare. I am being paid to remember details and most importantly, I am being paid to make myself as compelling on the witness stand as I possibly can be. My job is to convince the jury of the soundness of my clients claims, and that requires me to bring gravitas, demonstratable expertise, and a lifetime of experience to bear in a way that is not overbearing, but is rather completely convincing. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I love this work. In some ways, this work represents the distillation of what I have enjoyed the most in my professional career. It hinges on the rigor of professionalism, the creativity of thought, and the ability to clearly articulate advocacy.

I am ready, and that means that the best thing I can do for my preparation is taking a final break… and then driving for the finish line.