Friday, April 30, 2010

The Learning Curve

With the start of my military justice career, I feel like I'm constantly running as fast as I can. There's so much for me to learn, both about the area of practice and the individual cases on which I am now the responsible attorney.

The first three weeks have flown by. I have been trying to soak up absolutely as much as I can from the other attorneys with whom I work; we're losing our two most experienced trial counsels and our designated senior trial counsel in the next two months. Then there will be three brand new trial counsels running the show -- kind of a scary thought for my boss, I'm sure.

I advise seven commanders -- most of whom are captains, but also one major, one lieutenant colonel, and one colonel. Each has a different style, different expectations, and different priorities. Time management and dynamic work flow will be very important to my success.

I had my first arraignment last Friday and I did the sentencing argument in my first court martial yesterday -- lots to learn here as well. It's one thing to read court procedure, and another thing to do things properly all the time on the spot. But there is only one way to learn. Both proceedings went well enough; in the Army it's all about trying to meet the commander's intent when you can, and trying to manage expectations when you can't. For the sentencing, we met their intent for the Soldier so that's good.

I've played golf each of the last two weekends, and I plan to play again tomorrow if the weather holds. There's a pretty decent Army course just a little outside Heidelberg. I expect before I leave I'll know every hole and green just like I did the one at UVA.

After a short week of work, I'm leaving on Friday to visit Mom.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for being so open about your work. We are so pleased about your trip to visit your Mom. We have a visit planned for June...around her birthday and Fathers Day

    BIG love,
    Gramps

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