Sometimes I post early, sometimes I post late. I guess I’m the Nice & Smooth of legal ethics bloggers.
Today I meant to post early. After all, it’s Wellness Wednesday, a huge day for this blog.
Alas, I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about you! Indeed, this post has been on my mind nearly all day.
I went to bed early last night. I anticipated being up later, but the Bruins game proved anti-climactic so I went to bed. To me, it was PERFECT sleeping weather. Meaning, I slept with the windows open and the covers drawn.
Does this ever happen to you? You’re sleeping so well that you’re actually aware of how well you’re sleeping as you sleep? I swear it happens to me. Not often, but on occasion. And last night was one of those occasions.
Then I woke up. Raring to go. The birds were singing and I felt good. Sure, it was still a bit dark, but that was probably just the clouds.
Except it wasn’t. It was dark because it was 3:30 AM.
That NEVER happens to me. Yes, I like to get up early, but I define “early” as 5:30. As good as I felt, I wanted my 2 hours of sleep back! Then, the irony struck me.
In response to last week’s Wellness Wednesday post, a friend/lawyer/reader sent me Americans aren’t getting enough sleep and it’s killing us. It’s an opinion piece that Dr. Jonathan Fielding contributed to The Hill. I found it fascinating, but scary.
Give it a read. It cites various studies that indicate that a lack of sleep causes health problems. And, contrary to popular opinion, our bodies struggle to recover from sleep deprivation. Meaning, “I’ll work all night tonight because I know I can sleep late Sunday” is not scientifically valid. And, as Fielding writes, “All-nighters push anxiety to clinical levels and even modest sleep reductions are linked to increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness.”
Folks, that’s attorney wellness. Get your sleep. Let your associates get theirs.
Alas, this morning, I didn’t fall back asleep. Rather, I made the mistake of checking scores, then email and – yada yada yada – the next thing I knew the coffee was brewing.
There was, however, a silver lining.
When I checked my email, I saw a notification that Professor Bernabe had posted a new blog. Given that the post focused on two topics near & dear to my blog – the duty of competence & fictional lawyers – it was a great way to start the day! Check it out. (My favorite voir dire (fictional or real) of an expert witness begins at the 8:13 mark in the video.)
The post put me back in a good mood, the early wake-up banished to the dusty corners of a memory bank that seems to consist of nothing but corners. In other words, reading the post increased my well-being. Thanks Professor! Further evidence of why you’re always on the #fiveforfriday Honor Roll!
Reading the post also got me thinking: I haven’t blogged about tv or movie lawyers in a while. And, for me, doing so is a source of wellness. So, I started searching the dusty corners – have I watched any blog-worthy fictional lawyers lately?
Not really. Recently, I’ve been into HBO. I re-upped a few weeks ago to catch up on Game of Thrones. When not catching up, I watched a bunch of episodes of Barry and 1.5 episodes of Big Little Lies.
The former? I know it has won a ton of awards, but I don’t love it. The latter, I loved the book. Despite its critical acclaim, I’m worried that the show won’t live up. So, as with most of my relationships, I’m starting by showing the show a lot of lukewarmth.
Besides those two, I binged on Veep. More accurately, re-binged, I LOVE that show. JLD has long been a favorite. Of course, I liked her in Seinfeld. And, as should be obvious by her numerous appearances in my real-life and #fiveforfriday quizzes, I thought she was fantastic as the ethically-challenged prosecutor Maggie Lizer in Arrested Development.
But she ROCKS as Selina Meyer. (some of you can probably guess who she reminds me of) And, Jonah, Gary, and Richard make me laugh out loud.
Alas, Veep provides no lawyers to write about. Yes, Selina was a lawyer before entering politics. And Richard holds a doctorate in constitutional law and is an expert on the electoral college. Still, nothing inspired me to write about either.
That leaves Game of Thrones. No, no character’s official profession is “lawyer.” I submit, however, that Samwell Tarly is the show’s functional equivalent thereof. If anything, he’s a veritable expert in parentage actions! Still, he’s nothing to blog home about.
So, having increased my wellness by using legal ethics as an excuse to write about tv shows, and having started to blather on even further than could be fairly described as “rambling,” I’ll get to the point.
I want to know what my readers think: when it’s all said and done, who will sit on the Iron Throne?
The latest Vegas odds are here. I can’t believe the line on Baelish. Intriguingly short! And, my poll is here, with candidates listed in the same order as the betting odds. I was tired of typing, so I cut off the list after Brienne of Tarth (and actually left off a few between her and Varys). Or, you can email me your theory/prediction.
I’m not sharing my vote. I do have one prediction to share though: the Night King and his ice Dragon will not be at Winterfell Sunday night. I predict they’ve headed south to attack King’s Landing.
Now, either vote, send me your prediction, or go to sleep. It’s all wellness! Even weller if you do all 3.
Hope you enjoyed your Wednesday.
P.S. if you can’t sleep, check out an old post on unethical lawyers from an HBO show: The Night Of: Who Gets Disbarred First?
Ethical Grounds 