#IYKYK

Does your gut ever speak to you? If so, do you listen to what it tells you? Practicing law is not only a combination of knowledge and experience, but also of instinct (and believe it or not) and morals.

We recently had a case where our client had some significant mental health concerns. At the beginning of the case, he voluntarily enrolled in an one month, impatient treatment program. After some discussion, we agreed that we would delay any negotiations until he had completed the program.

Soon after he completed the program, we resumed negotiations. During what should have been an easy conversation, his mannerisms became way more intense and erratic. The uneasy feeling spiraled in well under two hours and an immediate judgement call needed to be made: Could our client continue to negotiate the matter or did the case need to be halted immediately (and essentially without asking him) to protect him from himself? In this case, instincts and morals made the quick decision.* #IYKYK

* Having a M.Ed. in counseling and previous career in mental health probably didn’t hurt in this situation; however, having not practiced in that sphere for a long time, I also needed to be careful to stay in my legal lane.