From the President, 0421 WYBJ, Vol. 44 No. 2. 10
| Position | Vol. 44 2 Pg. 10 |
Opening Day
As you read this column, 29 Major League Baseball teams and the Colorado Rockies will have held opening day to start the 2021 season. (Sorry, I cannot help but take a swipe at the Rockies. Who pays another team to take the league’s best third baseman and only gets a bag of beans in return?) It is the best time of the year. There is nothing better than enjoying the sights and sounds of a day game on a late spring or summer day with a cold beverage. There are few colors as beautiful as the green of a freshly cut and manicured baseball diamond. While I was a terrible player—I never could hit a fastball and could not pitch to save my life—I always loved the game of baseball. I still have fond memories of listening to the San Francisco Giants on my grandmother’s deck and catching the Ball Park Express to Candlestick Park for a day in the bleachers, at a cost of less than $5. While I do not make as many games as I would like, I still love the history and lessons baseball teaches our youth. There are many lessons and metaphors that can be drawn between the practice of law and baseball. Here are a few:
Variety
In the practice of law there is tremendous variety, in both the practitioner and the practice. We have attorneys that practice criminal, business planning, commercial, estate planning, real estate, licensing, tort, along with those that work for the state, county, federal government, non-profits and in private practice. We have members trying cases in their late 20s to the mid-70s. One of our attorneys, not quite 28, just had her first oral argument before the Wyoming Supreme Court. In the 2000s, the two most dominant pitchers were Pedro Gomez, 5’10”, and Randy Johnson, 6’10”. You could not have picked two physically different pitchers, but both dominated batters. With the right skill set, anyone can play baseball. Yo u do not necessarily have to be tall or short or even necessarily fast. Like the practice of law, every game is different. Every client is different. Every matter is different.
Constant Attention and Anticipation
Baseball, like the practice of law, requires constant attention to detail—from the next pitch to the position of the outfield to getting someone up in the bullpen. Representing clients, whether it is litigation, business planning or estate planning, an attorney always...
To continue reading
Request your trial