Formulas explain the workings of our universe. And every formula has its unalterable constants yet also its fluid variables. Behold E=mc2. As goes the universe, so goes our mini-universe, the practice of law, with its fundamental formulas. Here's one: LP (Legal Practice) + JE (Judgment Errors) = R2 (Good response or Poor response). So, let's speak of the too often unspoken: making mistakes as a lawyer (the constant) and the variable (our response to them). What matters is that we embrace the mistake with open arms, not shun the mistake with a closed mind. What truly counts are the lessons learned, the wisdom gained, the maturity developed. Here, then, are five guideposts to help us on our way.

Guidepost No. 1: Is there a doctor in the house?

Let's start not with the law but with our sister profession, medicine. Dr. Atul Gawande is a surgeon in Boston. In his penetrating article for The New Yorker, "When Doctors Make Mistakes" (Feb. 1, 1999), he compares his passion for surgery to his love of baseball. The shortstop flubs the throw to first base around 2-3% of the time. For him, it's the same error rate as in surgery for reasons ranging from perceiving how deeply to cut to misreading the patient's symptoms. He writes that these are errors in judgment, not evidence of negligent conduct. It's a numbers game, just like baseball: Out of thousands of surgeries, mistakes will pop up. His reality is our reality as well. Accept it. But then, what to do about it?