So sue me

Two of the universal laws of money seem to be 1) people who become materially much better off than they are accustomed to have an overwhelming desire to demonstrate gross bad taste a la David Beckham or any lottery millionaire and 2) that once they have had their gold-plated billiard table delivered and the appeal of a diamond encrusted mobile phone is on the wane they go out of their way to find someone to threaten with legal action.

That happened to me this weekend; alas I didn’t win the lottery, but I have had a client reaching for his lawyer a little too readily with the promise of a lawsuit attached, although I will point out that I don’t know anything about his financial circumstances. I don’t know why this only ever happens to me in January though.

The threat of legal action is always unpleasant and can quickly spiral out of control, but at the end of the day it’s often all about game theory. When neither side can clearly win (remember lawyers are always the winning side) the time and energy required by both parties means that often it is a question of outbluffing your opponent until they are willing to accept a sensible offer.

So don’t threaten to sue me – I don’t crumble at the threat of legal action and I’m entitled to the free legal aid that comes from living with a lawyer, so why don’t you be reasonable and I will too.

Categorised in: life

This post was written by David