Sorry for the crickets around here, folks. Back to business. So I had to go down to the New York Supreme Court the other day to renew my notary license. I'm always slightly geeked out when I go to court — any court — but there's something so visually majestic about the court buildings downtown. Maybe it's just the lawyer in me talking — who knows. As I walked around the building trying to find the notary office, I was immediately taken back to my one and only court appearance as a litigator. I was filling in for a colleague on a pro bono case for a minor court appearance. He told me what I needed to tell the judge — very quick, very simple. When our case was called, the judge immediately called counsel into chambers and expressed her frustration at seeing our clients before her yet again. She demanded that we have a full custody hearing that afternoon. I nearly passed out. Once I regained my composure, I respectfully explained that I was filling in for a colleague and that it would be in our client's best interest to have some time to prepare for a custody hearing. "Fine," she barked. "Monday." I returned Monday morning with my colleague for a full-blown custody hearing for which we had prepared all weekend. Trial by fire, indeed.