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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 17, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Be at peace with yourself first and then you will be able to bring peace to others." - Thomas A. Kempis (E-zine: WEEKEND ENCOUNTER http://www.gospelcom.net/actsi/weekly/) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: WINNING THE VERDICT by Mike Murdock Several years ago, I was invited to attend a Christmas party for a large law firm here in Dallas. One of the young lawyers told an unforgettable story that night. He was the protégée of one of the great lawyers in the Midwest. This renowned lawyer won practically every case. In fact, every one of his settlements were million dollar settlements. The young lawyer simply could not figure it out. He said, "The research was normal. The reading material seemed normal. The stack of information we had collected seemed average before he got in front of the jury." Then he said, "This old lawyer would walk back and forth before the jury. As he talked, a transformation took place on the faces of the jury. When they came back, they always gave his client huge settlements." That night at the Christmas party, the young lawyer told us how he probed his mentor and said, "You must tell me your secret. I watch you carefully. I've read your material. But, none of us in the firm can figure out why your juries returned with million dollar verdicts. It is a mystery we cannot unravel." The old lawyer said, "I would like to tell you, but you really would not believe me if I did." The young lawyer probed him month after month. For a long time the older lawyer insisted, "It really would not mean anything to you." Finally one day when the young protégé was going to leave his firm to go to another city, the old mentor said, "Take a drive with me." They went to a grocery store. The old lawyer filled the back of his car with groceries and they began to drive out into the country. It had snowed. It was freezing and the icy weather was cutting. They finally drove up to a very modest, inexpensive farm house. The old mentor instructed the young lawyer to help him carry in the groceries. When they went inside the home, the young lawyer saw a little boy sitting on a sofa. He looked closer and noticed that the little boy had both of his legs cut off. It happened in a car accident. The old lawyer spoke to the family for a few moments and said, "Just thought I would bring a few groceries for you since I know how difficult it is for you to get out in this kind of weather." As they were driving back to the city, the old lawyer looked at the young lawyer and said, "It is quite simple. My clients really do matter to me. I believe in their cases. I believe they deserve the highest settlements that can be given. When I stand before a jury, somehow they feel that. They come back with the verdicts I desire. I feel what my clients feel. The jury feels what I feel." - WITANDWISDOM™ March 1996 ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: GREAT IMPONDERABLES! When an agnostic dies, does he go to the "great perhaps?" Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Do you think Houdini ever locked his keys in his car? Can atheists get insurance for acts of God? If procrastinators had a club would they ever have a meeting? Have you ever wondered why just one letter makes all the difference between here and there? If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? Why is there always one in every crowd? If all the world is a stage, where does the audience sit? Who decided "Hotpoint" would be a good name for a company that sells refrigerators? How do you know when it's time to tune your bagpipes? (E-zine: BILL'S PUNCH LINE Mailto:bills-punch- line-subscribe@onelist.com) ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: When Calvin Coolidge was vice president, Channing Cox, who had succeeded Coolidge as Governor of Massachusetts, came to Washington and stopped in to see him. Cox was impressed by the fact that Coolidge was able to see long lists of callers every day, yet finished his work by five o'clock. Cox pointed out that he often found himself tied up with visitors until nine in the evening. "What makes the difference?" he asked. "You talk back," Silent Cal explained. From: Bits & Pieces, October 14, 1993 (Magazine: BITS & PIECES http://www.epinc.com/ ) ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: The story is told of an old gentleman who was very wealthy. As far as he knew, he had no living relative upon the face of the earth. He surmised that he had not long to live . . . . As winter came on, the rich man grew quite ill and, during the worst spell of blustery weather, died. It was announced that the man had requested that his funeral be held at four o'clock in the morning. So it was conducted on a pitch-dark, freezing, snowy morning. The only persons who came out at the unearthly hour were three men and one elderly woman. There they sat huddled in the shadows of the silent mortuary as the clergyman spoke a few words of respect regarding the departed friend's life. After the brief service was over, the old gentleman's attorney arose and said it was the dead man's request to read the will at this time. The money had been left to be divided equally among the friends who had cared enough to be present at his funeral. - By Demia Knapp Wilson, Signs of the Times, December 2, 1952 (Dale Galusha http://www.pacificpress.com/signs ) |