Turbulent Reentry

I've been working on a case for several months that was set for arbitration starting today.  The nature of my particular job is that I work from LR when I can, but when things heat up before trial or before an arbitration, I need to be in the office most of the time.  Hence, since January 2nd, I've been living in Houston, coming home on the weekends if possible. 

An arbitration, also known as an alternative method of dispute resolution, is supposed to be cheaper and faster than going through a full blown trial.  Usually the two disputing parties will choose an arbitrator (or a panel of arbitrators) that have some expertise in the area of dispute, and will present their case to the arbitrator.  There is no jury, and the time frames are usually much shorter.  In terms of the preparation leading up to the arbitration, however, it is about the same.  Your client  will still be stating his or her case, with perhaps a significant amount of money on the line, and the decision will be binding.  For this reason, you want to present your case the best way possible and be as prepared as you possibly can be.

Early last week, there were some rumblings about settlement, but they faded pretty quickly and everyone assumed it was off the table.  I left the office at around 6pm on Friday night, knowing we'd be meeting back up there around 10:00 Saturday morning for a full day's work.  Sunday would be much the same, and Monday through Friday would be the madness that is a trail.  These are the times you just hunker down, plow through it, and hold your breath  until everything is over and the dust settles.

I got into the office on Saturday morning, and learned almost immediately that settlement was not only back on the table, it was now almost a near certainty.  Go figure.  It's a strange situation to be in - until the agreement is finalized and signed, it's not a done deal; many settlements have fallen apart even after they appeared to be definite.  So for that reason, you don't stop working the case until everything is inked.  We basically spent all day Saturday trying to intensely prepare for the arbitration that likely wasn't going to happen, even as the settlement agreement was being negotiated.  Saturday evening, everything was finally inked and the team beat a hasty exit to get some rest and recover from the craziness that has been January.

I wasn't expected back in LR until this coming Friday, and since I drove, there was no messing with flights or anything to get back home.  The deal was inked too late on Saturday to drive home, so I stayed Saturday night with my friend L in town.  We watched a movie (True Grit, the original one), cooked dinner, drank Scotch, and generally just relaxed from the week.  Sunday morning I woke up well before my alarm went off, grabbed my things and hit the road. 

See, I didn't tell anyone at home that the case settled - I had this grand plan that I'd show up at the house Sunday afternoon out of the blue and surprise the hell out of everyone.  It didn't quite work out as I planned.

I did manage to shock my kiddos.  J usually plays tennis on Sunday afternoons, so the kiddos were  at my parents house (I let my mom in on  the surprise).  Of course, the first question was "did you bring my present?" and the second was "Where's your Ipad?", but I guess I can let that go.  They are 6 and 4, after all! 

I rounded them up and we headed towards the house.  I was thinking that I could get some things around the house picked up, maybe there was time to actually cook a decent dinner (I really enjoy cooking when I have the time), and wouldn't J be totally thrilled when he got back from tennis and figured out that he was no longer a single dad for the week?  Yeah...somehow my surprises never go quite the way I plan. 

We drive  up to the house, and J is in the driveway.  With a shovel.  Next to a huge mound of dirt.  And an exposed water meter.  With evidence of a large amount of water draining into the gutter.  NOT COOL.  I'm not sure what it is about us (or this house) that attracts plumbing issues, but this was a pretty good one.  Apparently the PVC pipe that connects our house's water to the city's water pipe had snapped, and had gone unnoticed for a couple of hours.  I'm a bit concerned about the next water bill...

So yeah, J was in the midst of dealing with that and wasn't particularly excited about anything at that point.  Even me coming home.  Maybe if I'd shown up in a plumber's truck it would've gone better...