20 Things I’ve Learned in 20 Years as a Lawyer

  1. Lawyers are their own worst enemy, it’s no wonder nobody likes them.
  2. A contract is only as good as your ability or willingness to enforce it.
  3. Better no contract than a poorly drafted one.
  4. Judges are human too, they err.
  5. Some people can’t be told or sold.
  6. Rights come with responsibility – give away the latter and you lose the former.
  7. There’s no problem that can’t be solved with either the application of sufficient money or genuine two-way communication.
  8. No matter how right you are, if the judge says you’re wrong, you’re still wrong.
  9. Nobody has a right to profit, merely the chance to go broke.
  10. You can’t win the game keeping an eye on the scoreboard.
  11. People fear what they don’t know.
  12. Lawyers are the only thing standing between you and the tyrants in parliament house.
  13. Very few people can afford their principles.
  14. Right is a matter of perspective and the truth is always relative.
  15. It’s expensive? Compared to what?
  16. You get what you pay for.
  17. Better to walk away from a bad deal at the start than to try and get out of it at the end.
  18. If it looks too good to be true, it is (not probably).
  19. Suckers are always parted from their money.
  20. Blood is thicker than water, but not as strong as money.

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