Former Appellate Division, First Department Justice David Saxe’s memories of his first trial as a judge brought back my own memories of one of my first trials as an assistant Nassau County district attorney in 1997. I joined the district attorney’s office the previous year, after a year as a law clerk and nearly four years in Big Law (before it had received that moniker). Having met my now-wife, my bank account, and my retirement plan at the law firm, I knew that I wanted to “come home” to Long Island to serve the community in which I was born and raised. I also knew that I wanted some “practical” experience in the courtroom, which of course is rare in big-firm practice.

Before venturing into the courtroom, we fledgling ADAs had a four-week intensive training course in trial practice, coupled with some indoctrination into the mores of the office. As excellent as that course was (and it was outstanding), it obviously could not prepare us neophytes for everything that could happen at trial.