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Would You Rather? Life in the Legal World · Asked & Answered - your community podcast for all things legal

• 0:00
  Kierstin: So this is where our stories diverge because... So it's so crazy because I kinda have some similar story, and we've never
• 0:08
  shared this.
• 0:09
  Alane: We've never talked about this at all.
• 0:10
  Kierstin: Yeah. So the thing is here, what I've learned today is if you want advice about this, you send them to Alane. You don't send them to me. Hey, welcome back to Ask and Answer. This is Kierstin Anderson.
• 0:27
  I'm joined here with my cohost, Alane Breeland. And today we're going to ask, WouldYouRather? Some funny questions related to the law or the things that we do every day. So I'll start first and then I think Alane is going to have questions and we'll kinda go back and forth.
• 0:43
  Alane: So Yeah. If we're gonna limit ourselves, we can't say it depends. We have to commit. So
• 0:48
  Kierstin: Alright. Would you rather have a surprise hearing tomorrow or a surprise 30 page motion due tomorrow?
• 0:56
  Alane: Oh, surprise hearing. No doubt. Yeah. No second guessing in my mind. Yeah.
• 1:01
  A 100%. I can for sure handle a hearing on the fly. Don't make me write 30 pages in a night.
• 1:06
  Kierstin: Yeah. Agreed. A 100%.
• 1:08
  Alane: I could do that in undergrad, but I don't think I could do it now.
• 1:12
  Kierstin: All right. I think it's your turn.
• 1:14
  Alane: Okay. Would you... I shouldn't ask you this one. Okay. Kierstin, would you rather have to litigate one incredibly complicated case for five years or handle 500 extremely simple cases in one year?
• 1:30
  Kierstin: Oh, that's kind of... Oh, I don't know. Because I feel like the one case for five years could get so draining. So I think I'm going to do the 500 civil cases. Even though that sounds like a lot, I think it would be...
• 1:45
  Yeah.
• 1:45
  Alane: I agree. Because if a case is lasting five years, it's probably really emotionally invested and...
• 1:53
  Kierstin: And there's probably a lot of things going on.
• 1:55
  Alane: And the outcome is, I don't know, it's gotta be a heavy case if it's hanging out for that long. Yeah. But like 500 powers of attorney in a year or... Oh, 100%. I mean, yeah, I'm with you.
• 2:06
  500 simple cases in a year for sure.
• 2:08
  Kierstin: All right. Would you rather be stuck in a three hour hearing or a three hour deposition?
• 2:18
  Alane: I think three hour deposition.
• 2:21
  Kierstin: Yeah. I'm gonna go with the deposition too. Think because for me, if you're in court, you have to sit there that whole three hours. You're not gonna be able to say, can I take a bathroom break or get a snack?
• 2:35
  Alane: You can't go grab a water. You sort of have to be there. And nothing happens at the end of a deposition. It's just information gathering. So there's not gonna be...
• 2:46
  It's obviously important, but at the end of the deposition, you're just gonna keep going about your way. But at the end of the hearing, something catastrophic could happen.
• 2:54
  Kierstin: So Yeah. You could get a ruling and all those things.
• 2:57
  Alane: Let's see. Would you rather have every email you send read aloud in court or every comment you've ever made under your breath at counsel table played over the courtroom speakers?
• 3:07
  Kierstin: Every email.
• 3:08
  Alane: Me too.
• 3:08
  Kierstin: Yeah.
• 3:09
  Alane: I keep my emails real circumspect.
• 3:12
  Kierstin: What is circumspect?
• 3:13
  Alane: It's like I try to be mindful and thoughtful before I hit that send button.
• 3:18
  Kierstin: Okay. I learned a new word today.
• 3:20
  Alane: Sometimes I save it as a draft and then go back and edit. Like I get my frustrations out or whatever, and then I save it as a draft and come back to it in an hour Oh, interesting. When I calm Okay.
• 3:31
  Kierstin: All right. Would You Rather draft a 40 page brief or review a thousand pages of discovery.
• 3:41
  Alane: Oh, give me the 40 page brief. I don't want to review a thousand pages of discovery.
• 3:44
  Kierstin: Yeah, I think the 40 page... And it didn't say like in a timeframe. So I can probably do the brief too.
• 3:52
  Alane: I actually really like research and writing, so I don't mind writing 40 pages. I just don't want to do it overnight. Right. That was my only objection to the one before. Okay.
• 4:02
  Would you rather have to try every case with no ability to make objections or have opposing counsel be allowed to object every single question you ask?
• 4:11
  Kierstin: I would rather have... What was the first one again? Sorry.
• 4:15
  Alane: Try every case with no ability to make objections.
• 4:18
  Kierstin: Yeah. I'd rather have that.
• 4:19
  Alane: I guess I'm a little bit on the fence, but if I have to choose, which I do, I would rather opposing counsel be allowed to object to every single question.
• 4:29
  Kierstin: My goodness. You're gonna be there all day.
• 4:31
  I Am gonna be there all day. But if they're objecting to every single question, they're gonna lose a lot of those. So then the jury is gonna be like, holy cannoli. So, yeah.
• 4:41
  Okay.
• 4:41
  Alane: I think it's eventually gonna work in my favor if they're objecting to every question that I ask. Gotcha. That's a
• 4:47
  Kierstin: good analysis. I think for me it would just be not having time.
• 4:52
  Alane: Just not doing that at all.
• 4:57
  Kierstin: Okay. So here's my question. Have your client tell you an important fact five minutes before court or tell you for the first time while they're testifying.
• 5:08
  Alane: I mean, I would rather have a client who tells me everything upfront. But if I have to choose, I'm gonna take those five minutes and run with them. Give me the five minutes if that's all I get. I don't wanna find out on the stand.
• 5:18
  Kierstin: Yeah. 100%. I can think of a case one time when I did this exactly thing did happen. This is when I was in private practice. And I wanted to hide underneath the table when I heard the testimony.
• 5:32
  Alane: It's happened I think to all of us. I've definitely had cases where a victim said something on the stand that I absolutely heard for the first time ever that day at that moment. And I was like, Oh my goodness. That's not amazing, but we're gonna figure it out. But I would like five minutes to think it through.
• 5:49
  That would be great.
• 5:50
  Kierstin: Yeah. Because we could come up with a plan at that point within that five minutes, right? I need two and a half to sort of process it, then I need the next two and a half to figure out my plan.
• 5:59
  Alane: I need to stare at a wall for thirty seconds, and then I can get going. Would you rather be stuck forever doing voir dire or forever doing discovery disputes? Maybe we should first explain what voir dire is. Sure. Voir dire is the process of selecting a jury.
• 6:13
  So in some jurisdictions, it begins even before the day of trial because some jurisdictions will send out jury questionnaires. We don't do that very often in Salt River, but we have before. But the process normally begins the morning of... It's the first thing that you do at trial. And the judge and then sometimes both of the attorneys will ask questions of the jury just to ensure that they can be fair and impartial, just to make sure that they don't have prior knowledge of the case or to make sure that they don't have any prior experiences of their own that could bring in a bias.
• 6:50
  So stuck forever doing that or stuck forever doing discovery disputes? I'm gonna choose Vordire.
• 6:56
  Kierstin: Oh, I'm gonna choose discovery disputes.
• 6:59
  Alane: Really?
• 6:59
  Kierstin: Yes. A 100%. I'm always gonna do discovery disputes.
• 7:05
  Alane: So I like trial. So if I'm stuck in Vordeaire, means I'm in trial, which is great. But also I like finding out stuff about people. I enjoy having conversations and that's what Vordeaire always is. It just turns out to be a big conversation.
• 7:20
  So I would so much rather have a lot of small conversations with a lot of potential jurors than have to dispute anything with an attorney I on the other
• 7:32
  Kierstin: mean, for me, the discovery dispute, I'm not going to provide that information. That would be my dispute and then they have to explain to me why, right? So to me I think that that would be easier as far as doing then you're having to be going through all of those things.
• 7:51
  Alane: That's true.
• 7:52
  Kierstin: All right. Explain the same legal concept 10 times or explain why what happened on law and order is not how court actually works?
• 8:03
  Alane: So I think as tedious as it would be, I would take explaining the same legal concept 10 times because no one will ever believe you that how it happens on law and order isn't just gospel.
• 8:15
  Kierstin: Oh, really? Because I'm picking Law and Order.
• 8:18
  Alane: Gonna I mean, I'm happy to explain to them, but they're still not gonna believe you. So I would rather just explain the concepts and just help them understand what the concept is. But I don't want to have to try to explain to somebody that Law and Order isn't real.
• 8:31
  Kierstin: The Hollywood version
• 8:32
  Alane: They're not going to buy it.
• 8:35
  Kierstin: Oh my goodness. Okay.
• 8:38
  Alane: Would you rather be exceptionally good at cross examination but terrible at closing arguments or exceptional at closings but terrible at cross?
• 8:45
  Kierstin: I think I would rather be exceptionally good in the questions. And I think you're the opposite on this, right?
• 8:54
  Alane: I'm the opposite. I think that cross examination is an effective tool. So I would hate to be terrible at it. But your closing argument, that's what you leave the jury with right before they go into deliberation. So I wanna be exceptional at that.
• 9:07
  Kierstin: Yeah. It's like the last thing that they heard, like you're closing the chapter. The only reason I pick questions is because I think some of the questions that you ask could make someone second guess when they are back in the jury room. Wait, do you remember that question that she asked? And that was the response.
• 9:28
  So that's something that could leave a mark on them as well.
• 9:31
  Alane: Absolutely.
• 9:32
  Kierstin: Okay. I have a funny one, I think. Would you rather argue every case wearing a judge's robe or carrying a briefcase everywhere you go?
• 9:45
  Alane: I think I'd rather wear the judge's robe. I think you might look a little goofy. Wearing the briefcase. Taking the briefcase everywhere like it's part of your body. I'll wear a robe.
• 9:56
  They did that in England anyway. We'll be fine. Yeah. Yeah. As long as there's no wig involved, I'll be fine.
• 10:01
  Kierstin: Yeah. Oh, that is true. Like, yeah, I think I would be wearing the robe too. Yeah. They didn't ask with the wig.
• 10:08
  Alane: If there's no wig, it's not part of the deal. If it's a robe only, I'm in. Plus, like, imagine you don't have to worry about what you wore to court. You just put on your robe. You're fine.
• 10:16
  Yeah. That would make it sound underneath. Yeah. Okay, Kierstin. Would you rather have to conduct an entire trial with no notes or give your closing argument with no preparation?
• 10:29
  Kierstin: I can give a closing argument with no preparation. So for me, I would... That's what I would rather do.
• 10:36
  Alane: Same. I'm really fastidious about my
• 10:39
  Kierstin: Another word she throws out here. What does this mean?
• 10:42
  Alane: It means I'm very serious and like I do a lot of preparation for my trials in terms of what I'm gonna ask the witnesses and how I'm gonna get my evidence in. And I would feel a little bit unmoored if I had to do that without my trusty trial notebook. But I can sink a closing argument.
• 10:59
  Kierstin: Yeah. I agree. Closing all the way. Would you rather have to say objection once during every staff meeting or let the record reflect in every conversation you have?
• 11:16
  Alane: I think I probably already do say objection at least once in every staff meeting. I guess I'll go with that. Oh my goodness. Just kidding. Oh, that's funny.
• 11:29
  Kierstin: But... So objection.
• 11:31
  Alane: Objection. Objection. Yeah.
• 11:34
  Kierstin: Yeah. I think I'm there with
• 11:36
  Alane: you on that one. Would you rather have to use Comic Sans for every court filing or submit every filing in all caps?
• 11:46
  Kierstin: Oh, I think all caps. Same. I hate Comic Sans. I don't mind Comic Sans, but I just think it would be better.
• 11:54
  Alane: It's so unserious.
• 11:57
  Kierstin: All right. Have the law and order play every time you enter the courtroom or have dramatic courtroom music playing while you argue.
• 12:08
  Alane: Are you kidding? I'm to take that law and order sound every time. That sounds amazing. I wanna do that now. Dun dun dun.
• 12:14
  Dun dun dun. Alane Breland for the community.
• 12:19
  Kierstin: Yeah. I'm all over the law and order.
• 12:22
  Alane: That sounds amazing.
• 12:24
  Kierstin: Can we can we ask the judge to get that set up for us?
• 12:27
  Alane: We'll email we'll email the court administrator after this.
• 12:32
  Kierstin: Alright. Alane, would you rather give up coffee for a month or answer legal questions at every family gathering for the rest of your life?
• 12:42
  Alane: Okay. Well, I don't drink coffee. Okay. This Well, I my do drink coffee, but I don't... I do drink coffee.
• 12:48
  I like coffee, but I don't do caffeine of any kind. So I end up not drinking coffee because it's hard to get in public if you're... Like, it's hard to order and trust that you're not gonna get... And trust that you actually are gonna get decaf. But I will say on behalf of every attorney who is alive, we're gonna answer questions from our family for the rest of our lives anyway regardless of what our preference is.
• 13:09
  Correct. So... That's what I was
• 13:10
  Kierstin: just gonna say. I do this already. But I mean, I don't know if I would... So I have switched recently to tea in the morning versus coffee. So I kind of in this question might say I would give up coffee because I've already in some ways have given up coffee.
• 13:31
  I agree with you. I like coffee as well. But I've just switched to tea for healthier
• 13:37
  Alane: options. I definitely do drink tea, but not caffeinated.
• 13:41
  Kierstin: Mine's caffeinated. Caffeinated all the way.
• 13:44
  Alane: Kierstin, would you rather have a client who brings you 700 pages of screenshots or one who says, I deleted everything because I figured you wouldn't need it?
• 13:52
  Kierstin: Oh, what would I rather? Screenshots or... I think I'm gonna do the screenshots because at least I have something and If I can work off of
• 14:04
  Alane: you have a client who has destroyed evidence, you're going to have a lot harder time in the long run than getting through 700 pages of screenshots.
• 14:14
  Kierstin: Yeah. Yeah. And then you also have evidence to back up what you're requesting or whatever. Whereas if you have nothing, there's nowhere to go with that.
• 14:24
  Alane: Yeah. I'll take the screenshots for sure. Yeah. Would you rather have a detective call you at 04:59 Friday afternoon with a quick warrant question or 06:02 Monday morning with something kind of urgent?
• 14:36
  Kierstin: Friday or Monday basically is what you're dealing with. I am gonna pick Monday because I'm fresh. It's the beginning of the week. And on Friday, it's, you know, I'm ready to be done.
• 14:49
  Alane: I'm gonna choose 06:02 Monday morning as well because at 04:59 on a Friday, there's not a lot I can do. There will be a judge on call who can help you get a search warrant. But if it turns into something, like if you need an order of protection, if you need another warrant, if you need... If I need to file a complaint and get an arrest warrant, I'm not gonna be able to do that till Monday. So I would definitely rather have 06:02 Monday morning.
• 15:14
  Kierstin: Yeah. I agree.
• 15:15
  Alane: For sure. But it always happens at 04:59 on a Friday. That's the rule. We all start getting itchy at 04:00 on Friday.
• 15:22
  Kierstin: Yeah. I agree
• 15:23
  Alane: with that. That's when it's going to happen.
• 15:24
  Kierstin: Well, to your point, and this is a warrant question, but we also have calls that come in. And can you get something filed? I need this filing now. And that's the thing that you just now said. You're not gonna be able to get in front of court.
• 15:41
  There's nothing you can do. Whereas on Monday, then I have time to prepare the motion and rush it over to
• 15:47
  Alane: And then at 06:02AM, I got a cushion. Like, can be there 8AM with bells on saying, here's what we need. Right. So, yeah, I'm gonna be awake anyway at 06:02 on Monday morning. So go ahead and call me.
• 15:56
  I'll help.
• 15:58
  Kierstin: Alright. Would you rather have a client say, I forgot to tell you one thing right before court. Okay. Or I may have posted that on Facebook and it's not probably good.
• 16:14
  Alane: I guess I'll take the I forgot to tell you one thing on the way into court. Court.
• 16:18
  Kierstin: Yeah. I think so too. Because the Facebook posts, then if it's incriminating or it's problematic, then you have to explain all that.
• 16:28
  Alane: Yeah. But if we're still on our way in, there's still something I can do. Like if court hasn't started, I at least get a little bit of a head start to figure out, okay, do I need to just dismiss what's going on? Right. Right.
• 16:41
  I think I have a good one for us to end on, Kierstin. Are you ready? Yep. Would you rather have to give legal advice
• 16:47
  Kierstin: to your co host for the rest of your life or be legally required to take your co host's
• 16:53
  Alane: legal advice for the rest of your life? Oh
• 16:59
  Kierstin: my goodness. Okay. Read it again.
• 17:01
  Alane: Would you rather have have to to give legal advice to your co host for the rest of your life or be legally required to take your co host's legal advice for the rest of your life?
• 17:09
  Kierstin: I think I would be giving.
• 17:11
  Alane: I think I would be too. I trust your legal advice. But I also know that neither of us are like broad spectrum experts. Right? We have our little niche practice that we do.
• 17:22
  So I would like to be free to consult as many lawyers as I need to. Yes. But I'm happy to give you legal advice, Kierstin. And I'm happy to take it from you as well.
• 17:33
  Kierstin: Yeah. No, that's good. That's good. I didn't even... That's a good analysis as far as giving.
• 17:37
  But also because I was just thinking... And maybe I was part of thinking that, well, I would want to be able to give advice based on things I know.
• 17:46
  Alane: Right. Also, I can tell you unequivocally that there are things that you don't want my legal advice on. Because as we were talking about earlier, I definitely have family ask me some real off the wall stuff that is not in my practice area. Mhmm. And my answer is always, I don't know.
• 18:01
  Yeah. So I'm not gonna be helpful to you in that circumstance.
• 18:05
  Kierstin: Oh, that's so true. I always... You know, I do the same thing. I'm like, uh-uh. You probably need to Right.
• 18:10
  Find someone else to do that.
• 18:11
  Alane: You're gonna need to ask someone who actually practices that area.
• 18:14
  Kierstin: Well, anyhow, this was kind of fun, I think. Had a good time. I hope you all enjoyed listening to WouldYouRather for this episode. So thank you for joining us today for WouldYouRather. I think we had fun today answering those questions.
• 18:29
  And hopefully you learned something along the way too as to how lawyers would think or analyze certain things.
• 18:38
  Alane: If you were ever wondering that.
• 18:41
  Kierstin: And if you have a question that you would like us to answer on Ask and Answered, WouldYouRather, or just a general question or a topic that you want us to cover, you can email us at ask and answered srpmic dash nsn dot gov. So until next time, we're signing off. Thanks everyone. Bye y'all.