Socrates reportedly said, “I know that I know nothing.” An internet review reveals many comments on what Socrates meant by his “know nothing” statement.
To me Socrates means a wise person approaches any situation without a preconceived agenda. A preconceived agenda assumes the person has thought out a future event and pre-planned how he is going to deal with the future event. Thus, he goes into the event believing he knows what is going to happen, and how he is going to react. He then reacts in a plastic pre-planned way.
Socrates’ statement, he knows that he knows nothing, translates to going into an event with an open mind. Following Socrates’ philosophy requires one to live in the moment without a preconceived agenda. It requires us to trust our self in the present and to react in our natural spontaneous way. In this way we are open to the moment and appreciate what is happening in the now with full awareness of the now.
As lawyers, when we follow the know nothing philosophy, we practice law without a preconceived agenda. We are present in the moment. We are open to what is occurring in the moment. We naturally react to the moment, and this natural reaction will be recognized by others as “real.”
Now a days I am trying to follow the Socrates method of realizing I know nothing. In the initial client interview this allows me to focus on my potential client. Thus, I listen without an agenda. I listen without pre-thinking my response before my potential client finishes her story. I allow her story to sink in, and then react in the moment, trying not to be judgmental. My potential client sees and feels my presence and that she is talking to a lawyer who is open to her story and understands her story.
This accomplishes several things: first, it makes me a lawyer who lives in the moment, without an agenda and who fully appreciates his potential client; second, it allows me to discover my client at my highest level; and third, I am then able to obtain the best result possible by staying in the moment without an agenda.
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