Posted 11/2/12 by Law Nerd, Esq. Whereas I would ordinarily perform some feat of legal research to enlighten the questionable audience, today I summarize for our readers the lessons of a young attorney. I have only been technically able to "practice" law for the past week and a half, having been sworn in on the 25th of October in Montpelier, Vermont, the wee-est capital in the nation. I will spend the next few years waiting for competence, as befits a profession that prides itself on obscurity and minutiae, and puts a $200,000 price tag on entry. In my short time as a patient young associate, I have learned: That it is important to ask the court to accept your evidence if you intend to use it to prove, you know, your case; to master the ability to translate chicken scratch; that it's scary to sign your name; that wearing a well-fitting suit feels like battle armor; to ask the harried partner his precise expectations, else fumb...