It's a trial lawyer's worst nightmare: a trial for a client gets moved and postponed, and moved and postponed again until, blamo, there it lands by a judge's decree in the middle of something personal and long-awaited: a wedding, a vacation, a graduation.

Many lawyers would just suck it up. They'd diligently explain the unfortunate news to his or her family, and valiantly re-immerse him or herself in the case, partly in an attempt to forget the rotten turn of events.

But...