"Here's the paradox of building a thriving Supreme Court practice: you succeed not by being the smartest person in the room, but by making everyone else in the room smarter. Supreme Court lawyers aren't exactly known for their humility-we've built our reputations arguing before nine justices who can eviscerate your reasoning with a single question. Yet the rainmakers I've observed, and the practice I've tried to build, succeeds precisely because it inverts that stereotype."
"The Improv Principle For years, I've been studying improv comedy, and it's transformed how I think about legal practice. The cardinal rule of improv is "yes, and"-you accept what your scene partners offer and build on it. You don't say "no" or shut down their contribution. You make your partners look good, and in turn they make you look good."
Law schools often underprepare students for collaborative work by not teaching how to lead and integrate teams. Practical experience at the Justice Department revealed that persuasive legal reasoning fails if others are not brought along. Successful Supreme Court practice depends on elevating colleagues' thinking rather than dominating discussions. Studied improv shapes a collaborative approach through the "yes, and" principle: accept contributions, build on them, and avoid shutting down ideas. This discipline requires resisting the instinct to correct immediately and instead finding value in others' input to develop stronger arguments and better team performance.
Read at Above the Law
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