I once had a client who told me that what he really wanted was a one-armed lawyer, because he was fed up with lawyers saying, “on the one hand everything is going to be peachy keen, but on the other hand, the world is going to end.”
Vicky was my associate many years ago. She was bright and ambitious. She wanted to learn and she worked hard. If you taught Vicky how to do something once, she would get it right every time after that.
Some years ago, I visited the Kennedy Space Centre and learned that our mobile phones have more computing power than the roomful of computers that launched the first spacecraft to the moon. That got me thinking about some people who I know who use these technology powerhouses for nothing more than checking their email, playing games, and laughing at videos about cats.
I did great legal work for Dr. Bob. He even said so. My service was impeccable. My fees were reasonable. It was a great relationship.
One day, Doctor Bob called to tell me that he had sold his clinic, and he asked me to provide the deal lawyer with any required assistance. And just like that, I found out that my relationship with Dr. Bob might have been a mile wide, but it was only an inch thick. You see, I was not his “trusted advisor.”
Chris was a client of mine who was in deep, deep trouble. I was brilliant, as usual. Following a period of intense stress for us both, Chris escaped with his business and fortune intact. He paid me handsomely, and without question. Seeing how appreciative he was of my efforts, I took the opportunity to ask him why he never sent me his easy stuff to do. I appreciated the challenging files, but being the greedy lawyer that I was, I also wanted his routine work to keep my juniors and clerks busy billing hours.
You will all remember Hansel and Gretel. Abandoned by their stepmother, they left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way out of the forest. Birds ate the crumbs, and Hansel and Gretel got lost, and eventually fell into the clutches of an evil, cannibalistic witch. Imagine, with me if you will, that AI was around at the time. Had AI trained on those breadcrumbs before they were eaten, it could have produced a map to lead Hansel and Gretel to safety.