The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

The CotoBuzz Journal

Community Journalism, Newsletters and Blogs Covering South Orange County, CA

The CotoBuzz Journal is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and NAHJ

August 2007 Issue

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and the Coto de Caza Board of directors and report the facts!

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest gladiator of them all?

July 18, 2007

“As I stood atop the Roman Colosseum during a recent trip, emotionally gripped by its horrific history, I couldn’t help but make the connection between the ancient gladiator and my role as in-house attorney,….. For starters, lawyers are often referred to as mercenaries and hired guns” writes Michale Baroni in the May 2007 issue of Inside Counsel.

Baroni then goes on the tell various war stories intended to illustrate how in-house legal counsel is very much a profession comparable to that of an ancient gladiator. “Beyond the defensive call-to-arms, companies often look to use the lawyer as an offensive weapon. We are sometimes told to smash or crush the opponent, ot to “cut’em off at the knees. This can often be at conflict with our legal and ethical obligations, thus compelling us to seek a more amicable solution than simply “burying” our companies adversaries”, Barosi writes.

Using Baroni’s analogy of legal counsel as the gladiator in a Home Owners Association setting, who might play the part of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180), and his son, the deranged Commodus, who ruled between 180–192, and spent most, if not all, of his time as Emperor in staging gladiatorial combats?

Or is Baroni’s analogy more consistent with Ronda Muir’s (Ronda Muir, Esq., a senior consultant with Robin Rolfe Resources and with law-practice experience in the US and Europe and an advanced study in psychology and conflict resolution) assertion that, in general, lawyers score at the moronic level in emotional intelligence ?

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