in truth and fact

I’ll be traveling out of town for my first Continuing Legal Education seminar next weekend. The trip amounts to little more than an excuse to meet up with some friends from law school on Thursday night before our class on Friday. But the firm is still paying, so I’m not afraid to call it what it really is.

CLE for young lawyers strikes me as a little counter-intuitive. I just graduated from law school, then spent months studying for yet another exam. I’ve been licensed for a matter of months and already I have to sit through more class. And for what purpose? Well, this one happens to boil down to a crash course in how to keep from getting sued by clients. To put it less cynically, this one will be about ethics, professionalism, and client service.

It’s true that most law schools don’t provide much education in this area. I had a required ethics class, but for the most part it was a joke that covered the common-sense stuff like “don’t steal money from your clients” and “brush three times daily.”

So whatever. I’ll happily take some time away from the office to sit through the class, but only because my friends will be with me. And because it would be cool not to get sued.