austinbar.org OCTOBER 2022 | VOLUME 31, NUMBER 8
Dealing with Opposing Counsel the Ted Lasso Way BY STEVE BENESH
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ost Friday nights, my wife Jennifer and I order takeout from the TexMex restaurant down the street, settle onto the couch in the den, and see what’s good on Netflix or Apple TV. One such Friday night not too long ago, we happened across Ted Lasso, watched the first episode, and were hooked. Ted Lasso is a heartwarming series—about to enter its third season—about an American college football coach who agrees to coach a professional soccer team in England … although he knows nothing at all about the sport. Jen and I enjoy the show for many reasons. The screenwriting is clever, the casting is spot-on, and the acting is wonderful. But mostly, we enjoy the show because of the unshakable optimism and unbridled positivity of Ted Lasso himself, the show’s eponymous lead character. Even though he arrives in England to discover that his players mistrust him, the press skewers him, and the fans revile him, he eventually wins them all over with his upbeat and courteous manner and the folksy adages that he offers in every otherwise-tense situation. As I’ve thought about it, I’ve
realized that some of Lasso’s adages, his “Lasso-isms,” have real application to how we regard and treat each other in the course of our legal practices. At times, it feels like civility and mutual respect are at an all-time low in our society and that it has begun to fray the edges of our own profession. So, allow me to offer my thoughts about how some of Ted’s maxims serve as apt and timely reminders about how we should interact with our opposing counsel. “Takin’ on a challenge is a lot like ridin’ a horse. If you’re comfortable while you’re doin’ it, you’re probably doin’ it wrong.” Practicing law can be very challenging, very trying, at times. The stakes for our clients are often high, and we owe them a duty to protect and advance their interests, usually in the face of vigorous opposition. In such times, clients sometimes want us to pursue tactics or engage in conduct that is inconsistent with the highest principles of our profession. It is important for us to remember that the Texas Lawyer’s Creed instructs us to advise our clients that we will be courteous and civil with counsel; that we will not pursue
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conduct intended primarily to abuse, harass, or delay; and that we will not pursue a course of action that is without merit. Establishing this understanding with clients at the start of representation may help to avoid conflict down the road. “Even Woody and Buzz got under each other’s plastic.” Disagreements with opposing counsel are inevitable … even with lawyers who we knew and liked before the matter arose. As zealous advocates for our clients,
we just butt heads sometimes. But the way we do so must be consistent with our professional principles. The Texas Lawyer’s Creed instructs us that we are to disagree without being disagreeable, to refrain from quarreling over matters of form or style, and to agree to reasonable requests that don’t adversely affect our clients’ interests. Yet, often, there is a temptation in the heat of battle to oppose something continued on page 7