Lessons from Competitors

Michael P. Maslanka on what attorneys can learn from Olympic athletes. An excerpt:

Lesson No 4: Be gracious. Today's enemy is tomorrow's friend. Lawyers and athletes who do not understand this universal principle are asking for trouble. Approach vanquished foes by being gracious. Understand their pain. Here is Emily Dickinson: “Success is counted sweetest/By those who ne'er succeed.” And lawyers, unlike some athletes, do not need to hug the opponent. Personally, I like the hockey players who, after they beat the living daylights out of one another, shake hands in a line at the end of the game. When I lost a case in El Paso, I still recall the plaintiff’s lawyers taking a minute to say, “Mike, the court of appeals still has a say. Good work.” Being gracious costs us nothing. Not being gracious costs us a lot.