The last time that I participated in “Show and Tell” had to have been in Ms. Duhamel’s class at Patton Elementary a long time ago. A very long time. Yet there I was at a recent ProVisors meeting, asked to bring an item that meant something to me and talk about it. I chose my finisher’s medal from the 2019 Marine Corps Marathon, which I keep in my office.
Why that?
This medal reminds me of two rules that guide how I practice law:
- Prepare, prepare, prepare
- But adapt as needed
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Finishing the MCM did not happen overnight — or even over a number of nights. It took months of high-intensity bodyweight workouts with my F3 buddies and long training runs up and down the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail. I planned how fast to pace myself to finish under my goal of 4:30, what gear to wear, and when to refuel. There were no shortcuts to completing 26.2 miles — just consistent work, done in advance, so that on race day there were no surprises.
That’s how I approach client matters as well. Whether I’m handling a dispute or advising a broker-dealer or a registered investment adviser on an regulatory examination or new rule, the work is front-loaded: digging into the facts, testing arguments, preparing for best and worst cases, and making sure my client understands the landscape before we take a single step into the “race.”
But adapt as needed
My months of planning did not account for miserable weather. Race day was not the crisp fall day that I had hoped to have and prepared to encounter. Instead, that Sunday greeted me and 18,000+ finishers with hours of driving rain followed by sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s. Washington D.C. transformed from an aquarium into an oven.
So I adapted. I changed my objective from meeting a time goal to finishing it strong. I did in 4:55, while not a great time, it still placed me in the top half of my age bracket.
In that moment, the practice of law was the furthest from my mind, but looking back, the parallel is obvious. In legal matters — especially adversarial ones — I can control preparation and effort. I cannot control the “weather”: the arbitration panel or judge, the opposing counsel, a surprise witness, a sudden change in business conditions, or a regulatory shift. When those things happen, clinging to the original plan is a good way to fall short. So I prepare — and prepare to adapt.
My Marine Corps Marathon medal is not just a memento on a shelf. It’s a daily reminder.
That’s how I ran the race. That’s how I help broker-dealers and registered investment advisers. I help them achieve peace of mind that they are meeting their regulatory obligations, so they can spend more time serving their clients and their business and less time serving their regulators.
Contact me if you want to bring decades of Wall Street experience to your firm.
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