Bar association, women's bar association, minority bar association, Italian-Americans in law enforcement, my formal office party, my in-house office party, Polish-Americans in law enforcement, police department general party, separate police precinct parties, narcotics party (not the kind of party you are thinking), homicide party, judicial district party, and New York State court officers' party.
Exhausted yet? Try attending even a fraction of them. It's not only a drain on time, but also on the bank account. I truly limit my attendance to just a few and then only stop by to show my face and have a drink with some friends.
What makes it possible to attend even some of these parties is that the court system usually slows in December, which means the overflowing river of work becomes a more manageable stream.
This year I have the biggest trial of my career beginning January 6th. My witness list stands at over 100 witnesses right now and I have not even put the exhibit list together yet. The trial covers a group of men and their violent criminal enterprise over the course of four months. This is the busiest and most stressful month I've ever experienced. Judges love to begin cases right after holidays because they are fresh and that means they do not have to start them before the holiday and possibly affect the days off. That leaves me spending less time with my family this holiday season and not taking any time off.
On the bright side, it provides a great excuse not to attend some functions and save some money.
That's a lot of parties. Good luck to you with your case, it sounds like a doozy.
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