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dumb I
t's true ... I've played dumb before. More than once, actually. You might naturally wonder what possessed me to do such a thing. Could there possibly be any benefit to such an act, you ask. Oh, yes. On occasion, there's a definite benefit to pulling that wide-eyed, nodding look out of my satchel of skills. Before I anecdotally explain my point, it's only fair to note that I'm naive sometimes. I chalk it up to growing up in small towns with happy, simple surroundings. This article isn't about naiveté, which is another thing altogether. For starters, naiveté is unintentional. In any case, here's the CliffsNotes version of the day that I first played dumb. I was working as a lawyer in Miami, and I'd only recently taken a great government job that allowed me to be in the courtroom alone. Prior to that, you see, I'd clerked for a federal judge and then worked as a young associate for a large international
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law firm. In each of those posts, I played an easily discernible role as subordinate to another always-present legal mind. But in my new position, I was solely responsible for management of the cases assigned to me. I wrote all of the necessary motions and briefs, and I argued them in court. And one day, not long after I'd started my great, new job, I presented myself at the courthouse ready to have a meaningful, intelligent discussion regarding the merits of my client's position.
I BECAME MORE CERTAIN THAT MY BEST BET WAS TO LET HIM BELIEVE THAT I WAS, IN FACT, "LAWYER BARBIE™" AND THAT I COULDN'T POSSIBLY MEET HIS INTELLECTUAL LEVEL.
VivaTysons | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 vivatysons.com