How, indeed, do we “turn our back from the bull?” Interestingly enough, world-renowned Mike Papantonio一also known as America’s Lawyer一tells us how. In this deep-dive, Mirena and Mike (aka Pap) shoot the breeze on the many nuances of lawyering and life. Kudos to our sophic anchor for tracking down one of the most influential and versatile attorneys in our country.
With her gift of gab, Mirena introduces us to the award-winning torts attorney, multi-media talk-show host, National Trial Lawyers co-owner, Mass Torts Made Perfect conference founder/co-owner, NW Florida waterways advocate (with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., no less!), athlete, musician, pilot, fiction author extraordinaire all rolled in one … What can’t Pap do? Interestingly enough, the diversity and excellence of his endeavors attest to the anthem he lives by: “maintaining the quality of life in anything you’re doing.” When he challenges young associates in his firm to participate in their book club (expecting them to read Orwell’s 1984, Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, Lescroart’s The Fall, Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men) so they can broaden their worldview and learn how to genuinely interact with a jury, it seems he has invaluable insight on the human psyche. It looks like he knows the secret to a well-balanced, well-lived life. Even at the apex of his career, he profoundly says with conviction, “You can’t live singularly as a lawyer. That can’t be your only identity.” And live, he does.
Pap shares how he first encountered the love-of-his-life while “dropping a wing,” barely 50 yards from crashing into The Bonanza as he was flying his plane. Beyond saving him from a near miss and after 37 years of marriage with the “fine-looking blonde at the end of the bar,” he quips about an old Chinese proverb, “You got to take care of anybody who saves you … ” The lighthearted conversation continues as Pap brightens when he talks about his daughter, Sarah, who blazes her own trail in trial law. In shows like these, we enjoy the rarity of when we catch a glimpse of someone who can confidently look ahead一secure in his “ability and foresight”一one who disarmingly refuses to grasp life too tightly, too insecurely, too fearfully. He has fame that envelops him, a career that supports him, contemporaries who respect him, friends who enjoy him, a family who loves him. And then we elegantly discover the secret to how we can completely “turn our back from the bull.”
EPISODE SURVEY
[00:02:50] Adapting to the pandemic
[00:16:06] Flying on a plane and meeting the love of his life
[00:20:05] The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
[00:22:02] Mass Tort Made Perfect conference
[00:28:38] The effects of third-party capital
[00:37:13] Improving mass torts for clients
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