From the President-Elect Michael Alder
Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
Never say “never” Reaching your goals as a trial lawyer can take a strong will and, well… time
I feel truly blessed to be a trial
lawyer. What other profession allows you to have such an impact in another person’s life? Short of marriage and the birth of a child, dealing with a seri- ous injury or the death of a loved one is perhaps the most significant occur- rence in a person’s life. How we, the trial lawyers, do our job means every- thing to these people in one of the most trying times of their lives. I am very proud to represent these individu- als, and I know most people reading this feel the same way. Pride, however, doesn’t pay the
bills. Today, I am president-elect of CAALA and run a six-lawyer law firm. But it was not always this way. Like many of you have done – or are still doing – I started out by myself. I did not even have my own office but rent- ed a P.O. Box with a “suite” address to sound impressive. I answered my own phone, signed my own proof of serv- ice, and put stamps on my outgoing mail.
That was 11 years ago, but I still
vividly remember worrying about whether the cases would come in, won- dering if I could pay the firm’s bills that month, and questioning whether I was going to make it. Who hasn’t got- ten frustrated with the obstreperous defense attorney or the Mercury Insurances of the world? But I never gave up, and I set my goals and worked hard – very hard – to achieve them. One of the best decisions I made
11 years ago was to become an active member of CAALA. Over the past
92— The Advocate Magazine JUNE 2011
decade, I have seen firsthand that CAALA is a group of attorneys who sin- cerely want to help each other suc- ceed. When one CAALA member obtains a victory for an injured client, we all share in that victory. I have observed from the ListServe, however, that some members may have the per- ception that the CAALA Board is elit- ist. Nothing could be further from the truth. As president-elect of CAALA, I want to stress that CAALA Board mem- bers are here to help all CAALA mem- bers. I want each and every member of CAALA to be successful, so I encour- age all members to reach out to a Board member for support. I don’t think you will be disappointed. I am often asked what advice I
have for other lawyers. The best advice I can give to anyone is to never let “never” stand in your way. Don’t ever say that you will “never” get that mil- lion dollar verdict, or that you will “never” get that judge to rule your way, or that your law practice will “never” be a huge success. You must believe in yourself and what you are doing, and you must always believe that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. Every time I hear people say they can “never” do something, I am reminded of a story I recently heard, which may or may not be true: On July 20, 1969, the commander
of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong, was the first person to set foot on the moon. His first words after stepping on the moon, “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind,” were televised to Earth and heard by millions. But just before he re- entered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark, “Good luck, Mr. Gorsky.” Many people at NASA thought it
was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet cosmonaut. However, upon checking, there was no Gorsky either in the Russian or American space programs. Over the years, many people questioned Armstrong as to what the “Good luck Mr. Gorsky” statement meant, but Armstrong always just smiled. On July 5, 1995, in Tampa Bay, Florida, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26-year-old question to Armstrong. This time he finally responded. Mr. Gorsky had died and so Armstrong felt he could answer the question. In 1938, when he was a kid in a small Midwest town, he was playing baseball with a friend in the backyard. His friend hit a fly ball, which landed in his neighbor’s yard by the bedroom window. His neigh- bors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorsky. As young Armstrong leaned down to pick up the ball, he heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky: “Sex! You want sex? You’ll get sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!” Never say “never.”
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