Poor
chess
players
only
think
ahead
one
or
two
moves.
Good
chess
players
think
ahead
five
or
six
moves.
Grandmasters
think
through
every
move
to
checkmate
and
back,
and
to
checkmate
again.
Likewise,
poor
lawyers
only
think
about
the
next
move
or
two,
good
lawyers
think
several
moves
ahead,
and
great
lawyers
think
through
every
move
to
a
win.
The
best
lawyers
think
about
every
action
and
reaction,
not
just
with
opposing
counsel,
but
with
the
opposing
party,
the
judge,
one’s
own
client,
every
witness,
and
every
exhibit.
And
they
think
about
how
they’ll
react,
what
they
will
do
in
turn,
how
these
actions
will
create
new
reactions,
and
so
on.
To
think
through
a
case
to
the
end
and
back,
you
have
to
put
yourself
in
the
shoes
of
everyone
else
in
the
case
and
evaluate
how
they
would
reasonably
and
likely
react
to
your
actions
and
what
actions
of
their
own
they’ll
likely
initiate.
If
you
were
opposing
counsel,
what
would
you
do?
What
themes
would
you
rely
on?
What
would
be
your
legal
theories?
What
discovery
would
you
conduct?
What
experts
would
you
retain?
What
questions
would
you
ask
in
a
deposition?
If
you
were
the
judge,
how
would
you
evaluate
the
facts?
Interpret
the
law?
Rule
on
your
potential
motions?
If
you
were
the
opposing
party,
how
would
you
define
a
win?
What
would
you
resolve
or
settle
the
case
for?
This
exercise
helps
you
figure
out
what
to
expect
and
how
to
direct
your
case
to
consider
these
possible
actions
when
directing
your
case
toward
a
favorable
resolution.
I
often
ask
the
following
questions
when
thinking
through
a
case:
so
we
do
X,
then
what?
What
happens
next?
How
will
the
other
side
likely
respond?
What
actions
will
they
likely
take,
independent
of
what
we
do?
And
how
should
we
react?
And
then?
And
then?
And
so
on.
In
other
words,
you
are
sitting
at
the
edge
of
the
chessboard.
All
the
pieces
are
waiting
to
be
moved.
And
you
think
through
your
initial
moves,
and
theirs,
your
intermediate
moves
and
theirs,
and
your
final
moves
and
theirs.
And
in
doing
this,
you’ll
be
better
able
to
evaluate
the
strengths
and
weaknesses
of
your
case
and
theirs.
Not
defining
a
win
(and
a
loss)
and
failing
to
think
through
to
the
end
of
how
to
achieve
your
goals
often
results
in
mistakes,
overlooking
opportunities,
and
a
shotgun
(rather
than
rifle)
approach.
This
haphazard
approach
may
lead
to
victory,
but
if
it
does,
it’s
mainly
by
luck,
accident,
or
due
to
opposing
counsel
thinking
about
their
case
even
less
than
you.
Strategic
planning
doesn’t
just
apply
to
firms,
companies,
and
one’s
own
life.
This
approach
applies
to
each
of
our
cases,
and
taking
a
strategic
approach
results
in
more
efficient
litigation,
better
work
product,
and
improved
outcomes.
Sit
down
with
your
team
and
brainstorm
each
step
in
your
case.
If
you
don’t
have
a
team,
play
chess
with
yourself
and
think
through
all
the
moves.
Consider
using
an
AI
large
language
model
(LLM)
to
brainstorm
all
the
steps
from
beginning
to
end.
However
you
approach
the
process,
it
is
essential
to
think
through
it
and
constantly
re-evaluate,
because
cases
are
organic
and
surprises
will
occur,
requiring
a
change
of
plans
and
approaches.
This
constant
evaluation
and
reevaluation
will
change
how
you
move
the
pieces
on
the
board
and
help
you
achieve
checkmate.
And
consider
taking
up
chess.
You’ll
appreciate
the
importance
of
thinking
ahead
and
how
to
do
so.
Frank
Ramos
is
a
partner
at
Goldberg
Segalla
in
Miami,
where
he
practices
commercial
litigation,
products,
and
catastrophic
personal
injury. You
can
follow
him
on LinkedIn,
where
he
has
about
80,000
followers.