As a final post, hopefully ever, in the series on unprofessional lawyers, I am borrowing some lyrics from my favorite rock band, RUSH. Written by Rush’s lyricist and drummer extraordinare, Neil Peart, and featured on their most recent album, Clockwork Angels, the song entitled, “Wish Them Well” is about realizing there is sometimes a need to walk away and just wish the bad person well. The song relates that some people are just angry, perpetually dissatisfied, mean, evil, or lost, and while they may have done you wrong, the best action is to move on without dwelling on it – just get away from them. And, keep your distance. This is not quite the same thing as the premise in Christianity of “turning the other cheek” – it is getting the cheek out of range so that they can’t punch you on the other cheek. In this series we’ve posted about good and bad experiences with lawyers, we are happy to report that we’ve have very few truly bad experiences. And, while people do not always have the opportunity to just, as Neil Peart wrote, “turn your back and walk away…” if that opportunity is there, use it. I spoke with a client/friend recently about the attorney references in my post, “Working for jerks, never!, and his response was to say that he had never regretted firing a client. And, while it still bothers me to have had to fire a client, because it let down another client, I know this was the right decision. I’ll admit having trouble wishing the bad attorney well – but if that means wishing our mutual client well, I can do that. And, as Neil Peart wrote, I will walk away from the bad one, and not look back!
David finds a lot of inspiration from his favorite band, RUSH. Unlike the lyricist for RUSH, Neil Peart, I have difficulty wishing well to someone who has harmed me. However, wishing someone well is probably the healthiest attitude one can take upon being wronged. The few clients with whom David and I have had an extremely negative encounter are truly the exception to the general rule of working for attorneys who are smart enough to realize that, if they want our help, they should be nice to us, or at a minimum, conduct themselves in a professional manner in our presence. As I have grown older, I have lost many dear friends who have passed away well before “their time.” These tragedies have made me realize life is too short to waste on people who make me uncomfortable, including relatives, spouses/significant others of relatives, spouses/significant others of friends, vendors, colleagues, employees, and clients. Even though clients, unlike the other categories of people I avoid, are paying me to spend time with them, I still prefer to not take their money if taking their money means David, I, (or anyone who works for me) will be subjected to any form of abuse. Wishing them well might not be my first reaction, but walking away, leaving the scene, and taking care to avoid being around these toxic people is something I believe in. There is no amount of money I will accept to be someone’s patsy.
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