Comparisons between litigation and war/battle approach cliché; nevertheless there are many parallels between the litigator and the warrior. A court room, like the battlefield may well be the crucible that separates the charlatan or fraud from the real expert.
"...The good news is there's hope … hope in the form of glorious combat, battle is the great redeemer, the fiery crucible in which the only true heroes are forged. The one place where all men truly share the same rank, regardless of what kind of parasitic scum they were going in."
Master Sergeant Farell, The Edge of Tomorrow
The undefeated Miyamoto Musashi (d.1645) is perhaps the most famous and most highly respected of all ronin (an analogous term is shugyosha). At 16, Musashi embraced the life of ronin and renounced all material possessions save his weapon and that which he could carry with him. Musashi thus began an individualistic, non conformist and peripatetic existence. He went on to defeat over 60 opponents in single combat, ruthlessly exploiting weaknesses and employing unpredictable stratagems. While he did not practice duplicity or deception, Musashi was not above disturbing or agitating his opponent. In his most famous bout on Ganryu Island, Musashi arrived late and showed up with a carved oar mocking the length of his opponent's famous sword. In an earlier battle, Musashi arrived much earlier than the appointed time surprising a group of warriors intent on killing him.
Both the warrior and the litigator must avoid predictability and seek, where possible, to act with audacity. In writing on what he calls “agitation”, Musashi notes: "There are many kinds of agitation. One is a feeling of danger, a second is a feeling that something is beyond your capacity and a third is a feeling of the unexpected..."
Musashi followed a strict set of principles. His philosophy can be found described in The Book of Five Rings, which he penned towards the end of his life, and The Way of Walking Alone, which he wrote days before his death. A complete record of his principles is unavailable; on at least three occasions Musashi references an "oral tradition" indicating that such principles are inimical to written form. His principles, distilled and applicable to the modern lawyer:
- Continuous learning, deliberate practice ("Do not turn your back on the various Ways of this world", "Never depart from the Way of the Martial Arts");
- Leisure is over-rated ("Do not scheme for physical pleasure", "Do not have a liking for delicious food for yourself"); and
- The only constant in this world is change, self-reliance is key ("Do not intend to rely on anything", "Respect the gods and Buddhas, but do not rely on them").
It is worthwhile to note that Musashi himself scorned most teachers as those that merely imparted techniques of wielding a sword.
“there is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
― Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings
It is here that one should diverge from Musashi’s dictates. The young lawyer must seek out and foster a relationship with a mentor. There are clear and obvious limits to learning your craft from reading a text. Much of the law is an oral and experiential tradition (Musashi himself, in The Book of Five Rings, on no less than 35 occasions, calls for the reader to "investigate this [the relevant concept] thoroughly").
A word of caution from the long dead samurai: "the immature martial art is a source of great injury".
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