This week I traveled to Midland with my boss for a hearing involving a lot of parties, a lot of lawyers, and a lot of money.

Feel the Energy

Midland, population approximately 170,000, is Texas’s 24th most populous city.  It’s located in the Permian Basin in the West Texas plains.  The view from the plane as we neared Midland left no doubt that this is oil and gas country:

The city rises up out of the flat landscape:

Once there, before getting down to the business of preparing for the next day’s hearing, we got a recommendation for lunch and headed to Abuelo’s (there are numerous locations around Texas).

The interior was cheery, with its sunny courtyard:Chips and queso, followed by fajitas, rice, and beans (all very good) provided ample fuel (feel the energy!) for an afternoon of plowing through the reams of paper filed by the parties in preparation for the hearing the next morning:

Our client arranged for us to stay in furnished corporate apartments (we each had our own — whew!), which were very comfortable and provided a perfect workspace:

There were a few surprises waiting for us:

My client must think I am more fun than I actually am

And a well-stocked fridge:

So thoughtful, and much appreciated 

There was a pumpjack right outside the complex — the first time I’d ever been that close to one:

We worked all afternoon and into the early evening preparing for the hearing.  After researching and writing about the key legal issue for almost a year, it was exciting/nerve-wracking to think about actually having the judge decide it.

We headed out bright and early the next morning for the hearing.

The hearing was held in Stanton, the county seat of Martin County.

Fortunately, the judge is not one of the “old sore heads.”

The Martin County Courthouse is not a grand old Texas courthouse, although there were two previous courthouses that would have qualified.  The present courthouse was built in 1975, and is a modern, concrete building, with colonnades:

On the front lawn is a pergola made from elements of the 1908 courthouse, the first of the three courthouses:

The Old Martin County Jail is next to the courthouse:

Outside the courthouse was a water tower, where buzzards had gathered — not sure if it was a gesture of solidarity with the many lawyers inside, or if they sensed something was about to go down.

The modest interior of the courthouse had a midcentury vibe (at least that’s what they call it at the estate sales I go to):

The circular courtroom reminded me a lot of the Nueces County Courthouse courtroom we had a trial in, with its vaguely “Close Encounters” ceiling:That’s my boss, sitting there by himself, waiting for the hearing to start.  On the one side of this lawsuit is my client, represented by my firm, and on the other side is approximately 140 defendants represented by a platoon of law firms.  We were seriously outnumbered — I joked that I was afraid the courtroom might tip over with all those lawyers on the other side.  In fact, at the start of the hearing, as the defendants’ side filled up, this is what our side looked like:

Eventually, though, our side filled up with representatives from our client’s company, interested parties, and onlookers. Honestly, it felt a lot like a wedding as everyone drifted in and milled about before the hearing — all dressed up, making polite chit chat, taking their seat on the bride’s side or the groom’s side.  Except there were no passed hors d’oeuvres,  no buffet, no dancing.  Well, maybe a little dancing, as the lawyers for each side kinda dipped and swayed as they passionately argued.

My boss did great, as usual, and I was glad he was the one arguing against all those lawyers on the other side instead of me.  The judge was attentive, but didn’t show his hand — I think if you asked any of the lawyers on either side they’d say it went well.  He promised he’d read everything and rule soon.  Until then, the proverbial jury is still out . . . .

UPDATE:  The judge ruled in our favor.  🙂

Everyone at the courthouse was nice.  The court clerk came by and introduced herself, telling us to let her know if we need anything.  The judge took off his robe (I was going to say disrobed, but it sounded inappropriate) and came down from the bench to mingle with the attorneys after the hearing.  And this really warmed my heart — I went to take a drink from the water fountain during a break (what was I thinking — everyone knows you can get Covid from drinking fountains, right?), and the stream of water arced up about two feet and landed on the floor about two feet away from the fountain.  Oops, clean up on aisle two.  I stood there pouting, and a woman next to me, one of the onlookers — I don’t know who she was or which side she was aligned with — said it was probably for the best, because really, we shouldn’t be drinking from public fountains.  I told her what I really wanted was a soda from the vending machine, but it only took coins, and the smallest thing I had was a $20 bill (first world problem, I know).  A few minutes later she tapped me on the shoulder and handed me 3 quarters.  I was stunned/touched by her thoughtfulness — and so happy to have a Diet Dr. Pepper.  If by chance you read this, thank you kind stranger.  🙂