When I was a kid, I would always be careful to ensure that I had
everything with me when I headed off to school. Book
bag? Check. Pens/pencils? Check. Homework
done? Hopefully. Non-embarrassing lunch? It
depends. I find that my wife and I are always making sure
that my oldest son has everything with him as he heads out the door
to his next day of first grade. Since he has lost jackets,
gloves, homework, and all of the above, needless to say that it is
a work in progress.
Now that my classroom is the courtroom, the stakes are ever
higher to ensure that I have everything that I need with me when I
head into oral argument. I was recently reading an article
from Jay O'Keefe's "De Novo" blog
discussing this very issue and thought, since we are all different
lawyers with distinct habits and routines, each of us requires
different tools to ensure that we are ready when the judge calls us
up to the tables to commence argument. Generally, if I
don't follow that
