Getting Knocked Down, Getting Back Up

Any lawyer who’s been in practice more than a week has been there, on the losing side.  It may be losing  a massive multi-million dollar trial or simply being bested by an opponent in a heated negotiation.  But while getting clobbered is never enjoyable, we’ve got to get back up and ready ourselves for more.  This article, Getting Clobbered – and How to Deal With It, Raymond Dowd, NY Law Journal (3/28/05) offers up both a little bit of empathy and some short bits of advice on how to react when a set back knocks you off your feet.  Not surprisingly, most of Dowd’s tips counsel a change in attitude or perception, such as recognizing that the worst thing that could have happened didn’t, using the loss to motivate yourself to do better next time and recognizing that in the long run, a loss can teach some good lessons.