"This book contains an overarching theme: we advance the rule of law even in the routine practice of our profession, and, in so doing, we acquire wisdom, often from the most unlikely sources."
--Stephen H. Sachs, Attorney General of Maryland, 1979-1987; United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, 1967 1970

Jokes about lawyers describe them as dull and tedious. The jokes suggest that lawyers are dispassionate, that they don't show emotions the way other people do.

However, practicing law presents many dramatic situations--the difficulty is that these situations are not often found in the public aspects of legal practice. It is in private meetings with clients and others, in behind-the-scenes events and personal reflections, that the emotional experiences of the legal profession are found.

This collection of 70 essays covers a wide range of legal areas and cases large and small, complex and simple, criminal and civil. Music, painting, architecture, and ethics are also discussed, as are specific ways of handling clients whose personalities are, to say the least, idiosyncratic. These stories transcend the specific cases in which they occurred; they combine to teach you effective ways of building meaningful relationships with your clients, staff, and the others around you, and in turn, finding meaning and happiness in your profession. If you wish to broaden your horizons and strenthen your relationships in your life and practice, then this book belongs on your library shelf.