Is it EVER acceptable to be five minutes late? Late-kins will always be late-kins if you let them get away with being so. If you don't they won't. More below. Back in 1992, I was newly working at a law firm, I was invited along with an associate who was leaving the practice, to fly out to a hearing, to observe. My commute was 35 miles, about an hour each way. I arrived about 15 minutes before we were scheduled to leave, which was 7 am. The associate lived much closer, but he had not arrived when I got there. The senior partner who was handling the litigation arrived a few minutes after. I had already introduced myself to the pilot, and asked about the flight weather, and flight time by the time he arrived.
About 6:58 the senior partner told the pilot it was time to go, so he walked out to the running plane, and helped us in. I was a bit surprised, and I asked after the associate. The senior partner said, "If he doesn't show up on time, he doesn't go, he will have to drive down, or go home." That brought me up short, and I realized he was not going to pay for the associates day if he did not make it or drive the 3.5 hours each way and meet us! As we taxied out the taxiway, I could see the associates small truck flying down the highway, turning into the airport, so I told the partner, who said, "He's late." And we flew. I was hardly ever late before that, I was quite punctual, but after, I was always punctual. Well, except for the first day of litigation I took for that law firm. But the circumstances were a bit different, I was in Portland at the Hearings Division at 12: 30 pm when I realized that I had a 1:00 pm hearing in another county, about an hour away. I called, and advised the Judge, and opposing counsel that I was on my way, but I would not be able to be there until about 1:30. The Judge was gracious, as was the opposition counsel. I won the case in the end, but it was a hella way to start my litigation practice at that firm. Heh. As I've said, it was a high intensity practice particularly the Workers' Compensation element, and I would sometimes have two, or even three hearings scheduled in a day. Thankfully I never had to take three in one day! I only rarely had to take two, but I was always fully prepared to try every case, no matter how many were on my schedule. I remember when I realized what the time was, having a pretty good adrenaline jolt! As my father used to say to the question "Is it ok to be late": Yes, if there is a death in the family, yours, otherwise, no.
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