“It’s like you hear the first two directions on how to bake brownies –and you start trying to make brownies without reading the entire recipe” Jay quipped. I was bouncing a case off of him, but he could see that as he was trying to pour into me, I was slowly making my way out the door, ready to go and get cooking.    

Finishing law school allows you to put a meal together that is somewhat edible on the table; however, at that time in my early career, I needed to make high-end legal cuisine, and folks were sitting around the table ready to eat.  The lesson I learned in those early days in learning my craft is that there’s no shortcut, there’s no life-hack, no Jedi Knight magic way that will allow you to escape from what must get done.  You’ve just got to spend time in the kitchen, be patient and learn how to do it.    

In my early career, on Mondays I worked till 12 a.m., Tuesdays till 11 p.m., Wednesdays till 10 p.m., and Thursdays till 9 p.m.  I soaked up everything I could.  I literally have a book of quotes and lessons learned over that year (picture above) filled with overheard quotes from Jay to his staff (Melissa and Lisa), lessons learned, and experiences documented.  Lunch was every day at noon and the topics were cases, opposing counsel, and experiences.  Meals came out dry or salty, but I was learning.     

At the same time, it helps when you can see how and what other chefs are cooking and ask them for tips.  Tom Ramer, Brian Davis, Jay Kerr, Reed Williams, Neil Fulhiehan, Perry Fisher, Kip Marshall…thank you for letting me look over your shoulder from time to time to see what’s in the pot and what I needed to do.  A another Jay-ism: if you want to be a good golfer, see what Tiger Wood does and do that.  It’s not a revolutionary lesson, but one that is so simple it gets overlooked: it takes hard work and patience to gain the right experience.