3 Reasons Fishermen Make Good Trial Lawers
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#1 - A Fisherman is an excellent storyteller.
Everyone knows that fisherman are good storytellers. Just ask them to tell you about that special big fish, and be prepared to strap yourself in for a long ride. The story will be filled with drama, plot twist, and colorful language. And, in the end, the hero always gets the fish. Aren't trial lawyers just storytellers with suits?
#2 - Fishermen, like lawyers, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Fishermen have a flexible approach to facts. Lawyers and fishermen don't let the facts get in the way of a good ending. Both skilled lawyering and skilled fishing require a certain ambivalence toward reality. Fishing may be the only profession which has a lower public perception of truthfulness than the law.
#3. Fishermen are doggedly persistent and seldom, if ever, give up before they've nailed their quarry.
A fisherman will drive 1000 miles for the privilege of fishing in the rain for three days in the vain hope of of catching one big fish. He will set his alarm for 3:30 a.m. and hike through the woods to jump a good hole. He will sit in the broiling sun for eight hours without sunscreen to bring home his catch. I recently drove 1000 miles in the vain hope of getting an opposing expert to tell the truth in a deposition.
Bonus: The "Fly Fisherman Enhancement" factor
If you have the good fortune to be represented by a lawyer who is a flyfisherman you can expect some added value. He will be obsessively compulsive about case details. He's probably well dressed. He will have spent so much money on flyfishing equipment that he has to work twice as hard as he should.
But - and this is the most important bonus - he'll be smiling a lot of the time.