Law Offices of Tragos, Sartes & Tragos P.L.

Defining the Mastery of the Practice of Law A good friend and master musician once told me to truly master a craft one must dedicate between ten and twenty thousand hours to its development. Taking into consideration an average 40-hour work week, you need to practice 8 hours per day for 5 to 10 years to really profess mastery over a craft. After over 22 years in the craft of splitting hairs and mincing words, I would suggest that we need to discuss the definition of “mastery” in the practice of law. Our profession as trial lawyers is arguably one of the most arduous to master partly because of the ever-changing landscape that is the essence of common law. ?Though a skilled musician can fashion thousands of songs from 12 notes, the instrument doesn’t change. Imagine explaining to a musician that every time they grasp their instrument, something, ever-so-slight, would change which would not be apparent until the note was played. How would that affect the end result? Would we ever have a “Moonlight Sonata” or, for that matter “Mary Had a Little Lamb” under those conditions? ?But that is exactly what we are asked to do every single day spanning a 30, 40 or, dare I say, 50-year career. I suppose the reason that we “practice” law is because our profession can never really be mastered. In my experience “mastery” in our profession really means proficiency of several talents that encompass the commitment to those we represent. I share with my young associates my definition of mastery. First, I believe that the lawyer who knows the rules and the law wins the day. Secondly, I believe victory comes to those who are relentless in its pursuit. Finally, I have learned that persistence pays dividends, albeit, over time. All of this demands the commitment to continually research, litigate enthusiastically and persevere, again and again and again.