Bench & Bar March/April 2026

F or lawyers, knowledge is power, of a sort that plays out in one of two distinct fashions. The first is when that knowledge is consistent with the interests of the client, enabling us to argue for a just outcome—as long as that is actually consistent with the interests of the client. The second is when that knowledge winds up being informed by the last thing that we need the client or anyone else to hear, encouraging us to head in the other direction as expeditiously as possible. As a general matter the truth shall set you free, but this may not always be accurate where the client’s liberty interests are concerned. With knowledge at such a premium, what then should lawyers make of the late George Harrison’s observation in his song “The Inner Light” that “the farther one trav els, the less one knows”? We discard at our peril any legal guidance offered by someone who also wrote the “Sue Me, Sue You Blues,” although in the case of “The Inner Light” the lyrics in question were actually cribbed from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching . Either way, our thoughts and actions may most prof itably be guided by another observation, although the identity of its author is now lost to history: “the less one travels, the less one bills.” Although moderated somewhat by the pan demic era proliferation—and longer-term staying power—of online practice, travel remains a stable component of the work life of many attorneys. Some may find this a liberating option, while others mourn the imposition of yet another series of distractions. I don’t recall “see the world” as one of the reasons my RAW FOODS: Avoid eating raw foods. Fruits or vegetables may be safer to eat if you can peel them yourself or wash them in bottled or disinfected water. Stay away from cut-up fruit or vegetables. They may have been contaminated during prepara tion. Avoid eating fresh salads, even if finely cut or shredded. TRAVE fellow One L students offered when asked during our Legal Writing class to describe why we wanted to be attorneys, along with “save the world,” “how else was I to make a living with a Political Science degree,” and “my brother-in-law’s Ferrari” (these were the 1980s, after all). Predictably, time spent traversing an end less succession of airports, train stations, and highways winds up taking its toll. The World Health Organization—who know a thing or two about getting around—have identified a series of health risks associ ated with distant and prolonged travel, including exposure to “changes in tem perature and humidity,” breathing in “air pollution,” limited “access to health and dental care services,” encountering “infec tious diseases,” varying “sanitation and hygiene standards,” and limited “access to safe food and water,” each of which have been associated with “physical, social and psychological problems” (https://tinyurl. com/travel-who). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://tinyurl. com/travel-cdc) offer both “food considerations” and “drink consider ations” for life on the move. These include: AVOID LUKEWARM FOOD: Cold food should be served cold, and hot food should be served hot. If you’re selecting food from a buffet or salad bar, make sure the hot food is steaming and the cold food is chilled. Germs that cause food poisoning grow quickly when food is in the danger zone, between 40°F and 140°F. DRY OR PACKAGED FOODS: Most germs require a damp environment to grow, so foods that are dry, such as potato chips, are usually safe. Additionally, food in factory-sealed containers, such as canned tuna or packaged crackers, are usually safe if they were not opened or handled by another person.

LAWYER WELLBEING

40 march/april 2026