Litigation week in Georgia

Well, today was the second day in litigation hell, and truly the hump day of them all. I started out in City Court in the new courtoom in the old Wachovia Buildling, nee' First Union Tower, nee' Commercial Bank and Trust Company building. That was 10:00 a.m. After sitting in the courtroom for about an hour and a half, we were told we had to come back at 2:00 o'clock p.m. So I took Kate to lunch and then returned in time to go back to City Court. At that point, the powers that be sat me down and allowed me to cool my heels in the courtroom until every case was reached except ours.

When we got to my case, they had three witnesses and the assistance of the usually friendly judge (that is, friendly to the city prosecutor and the police). I still don't think that they could make a case against my client for the alleged ordinance violation for zoning. Nevertheless, they did. The only victory I got in the thing was that I think the judge was lenient on the fines, only assessing $150 per violation.

Nevertheless, as I got toward the end of the case, the court workers were hot to tell me that Judge Gail at the Magistrate's Court had called and was expecting me very soon. I only got there about thirty minutes late. At any rate, we cranked up the case and didn't finish until 6:30. As I stood on the courthouse steps and discussed the case with my clients, Kate called me and told me I was missing my 5:30 closing.

Not knowing anything about a 5:30 closing, I hustled over to the office to find Patti conducting the closing in my absence. I quickly took over and finished up around 7:00 or so.

When you are involved in litigation you do a lot of sitting around. But the stress churns inside of you. By the time you get to the end of the day, you are worn out.

And I still have a big hearing in Federal District Court in Atlanta tomorrow morning.
By the end of tomorrow, I should be ready for some relaxation and fun on Saturday.