Say "Sharing is Caring" or I'll f**king sue you!

A friend passed along this blog entry from AmLaw Daily, a legal industry website, about three lawyers from Pennsylvania against whom we will be competing next month.

http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2008/05/bbq-qa.html

For those readers who aren't close Friends of Shirtless Mike's (FOSM for short), both Chris and I are attorneys and developed our passion for smoked meat while roommates at William and Mary Law. [ed. note. Adam developed his love of smoked meat in his Uncle Jimbo's woodshed in 1989. He doesn't like to talk about it.]

Much about the practice of law lends itself to barbecue-- it can be tedious and frustrating, every step depends on the precise execution of the previous step, and, in competition, barbecue is a zero-sum game. But these basic similarities give way to a unyielding disconnect-- barbecue is all about sharing something you love with others-- whether they be family, friends, strangers or judges.

With that in mind, I'm expecting the down-time spent with our fellow competitors to be the highlight of this competition. I've spent most of my adult life attending barbecue competitions, blues festivals and pretty much every other outdoor-booze-and-food-themed-event that costs less than ten bucks in the mid-Atlantic region. It takes a certain type of personality to enter into these events. You need discipline, a naturally stratospheric energy level, a love of barbecue and, most of all, you need to draw pleasure from the act of sharing.

The prospect of a challenge from within the legal community is a surprising twist on what will already be a memorable experience for the three of us.