The good of the client has undercut the growth of my god complex

The Nuclear Option Case has settled two days short of the hearing on my dispositive motions.

After receiving the handwritten surrender note, I heard from the opposing counsel just once when I told him that I was not authorized to settle until I heard back from my client. This was seven weeks ago. Since then he ignored the Court ordered briefing schedule and more or less been a silent black hole. Then I filed a motion to bar his response yesterday.

My favorite opposing counsel called today.

I had to hold the phone away from my ear this afternoon because he was a bit of a screamer. In retrospect, I wish I had recorded the conversation because the word selection was choice from this guy as he yelled louder and louder.

The long of the short of it was that my client wanted to take his settlement offer but I wanted to see if I could get a little more. I told him I would talk to my client and get back to him. I didn’t talk to my client, I just sat at my desk working on other matters, delaying to make this guy sweat a little bit.

Calling him back and accepting his offer felt like a loss.

It shouldn’t though. This was a lawsuit where the Plaintiff was seeking tens of thousands of dollars from my client. My client pays nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. This is the definition of a victory yet it still feels hollow.

At the end of the day, the client determined what he wanted to do and that’s what I did. This chapter of my career, albeit an educational and entertaining ride, is now closed.

It’s time to go dive into the next great case.