Everybody Lies

As I mentioned, I had my first crack at flying solo with an arbitration on Friday. It was a small, small dollar PI case that I could cut my teeth on. I would love to totally blame the client for this one. And I'm going to. But I'm also going to blame myself.

My first mistake: not knowing the interrogatories backwards and forwards.

My second mistake: trusting the client.

In the prep sessions that I had with the client I began, inserted frequently in the middle, and closed them with one simple thing: Do not under any circumstances lie. Always tell the truth. Always.

And here is what lost our case (in a he said, she said, affair):

My Question: How many days did you miss work?
My client (over the phone): Two weeks.

My Question: How many days did you miss work?
My client (in person): Two weeks.

My Question: How many days did you miss work?
My client (as I'm walking with him to the arbitration): Two weeks.

My Question: How many days did you miss work?
My client (under oath): Two, almost three months.

Opposing Counsel's Question on Cross: How many days did you say you miss work?
My Client (still under oath): Two, almost three months.

Opposing Counsel's Question on Cross: When you wrote, under oath, your interrogatories under oath, how many days did you say you missed work?
My Client (still under oath): I dunno.
Opposing Counsel's Question on Cross: [After laying the very nice foundation, with my objecting left and right, getting admonished by the chair, and reading the interrogatories into the record] You said you missed 2 days.

Game. Set. Match. Fuck Me.