Thoughts About Life and Legal Issues From Family,
Entertainment, and Commercial Law Attorney

Our founder, Steven J. Mandel, is an experienced trial attorney who has seen a lot in his more than 25 years of practice in the tough New York legal scene. Over the course of his career as a litigator and family law attorney, he has developed a number of maxims that define, sometimes in a humorous way, his view of the legal scene. Some are more original than others, but all will make you think.

Mandel's Laws

• The practice of law is an art, not a science.
• If a lawyer only knows the law, the legislature can repeal everything he knows.
• The good lawyers know the law; the great lawyers know the legal loopholes.
• If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.
• The only thing “luck” gets you is a parking spot.
  Everything else comes from hard work and design.
• To be a success, you only have to work half a day.
  It doesn’t matter if it’s the first 12 hours or the last 12 hours.
• Your problems are now my problems.
• Don’t worry ‘til I tell you to worry.
• We’ll win as a team.
• I’m not here to get a birthday card from the other side.
  All I care about is you.
• It’s easier for me to keep you out of trouble than get you out of trouble.
  So, when in doubt, talk to me.
• Life is a series of bridges. You have to decide which ones to build and which ones to blow up.
• Peace has its price; but it’s important to know what the price is.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff, but don’t take any grief from anyone.
• When you’re swimming in the ocean and you hear music playing, get out!
• Integrity and credibility go hand in hand, as does hard work and results.
• A fair settlement is one in which both sides are a little bit unhappy.
• I earn my reputation one client at a time.
• Don’t let their problems become your problems.
• If you want things to happen, you have to make them happen.
• Litigation is a marathon, not a sprint.
• If you focus on the solution, the problems take care of themselves.