What happened
About forty feet down in the dark off Hawaii with his wife Robin, watching manta rays come in to feed.
Where it carries over
Nobody arrives at forty feet at night by deciding to that afternoon. There is certification, a plan, equipment checked by somebody who cares whether it works, and a run of ordinary weeks doing the unremarkable part. The eight minutes worth watching sit on top of all of it. Trials are built the same way.
Photograph to place hereJesse and Robin in dive gear on the boat before the night dive, Hawaii. Real photograph, not stock.
What happened
Eleven days and roughly 110 miles on foot with his oldest son, carrying everything they needed.
Where it carries over
Distance like that is not decided by the fast days. It is decided by weight chosen in advance and a pace you can hold on day nine. A long case has exactly the same arithmetic, and the firm that sprints through the first three months is often the one that runs out of client patience before the hearing that matters.
What happened
Three sons who each earned Eagle Scout. That rank is theirs, earned by them, and no parent gets to claim it.
Where it carries over
What it asks of a parent is years of ordinary weeknights, three separate times, while a litigation practice is asking for the same evenings. That is a scheduling problem before it is anything else, and people who solve it for their own family tend to solve it for a client.
Photograph to place hereJesse and his oldest son on the trail at Philmont in 2018, packs on. Real photograph, not stock.
He gives his full attention to what he is engaged with, whether it be a case he is working on or his role as substitute teacher at his children's school.
What happened
Two basements finished and two decks built, by him, in a house with children in it.
Where it carries over
Someone who has framed a wall and finished a room can talk to the people who actually build things without either of them performing. Technology cases are full of people who build things, and they can tell within a sentence whether the lawyer asking has ever made anything.
What happened
Married to Robin for twenty-eight years. Four children.
Where it carries over
Long commitments are a skill rather than a fact. A patent case can outlast a job, a product line and occasionally a company, and it wants a lawyer who is comfortable being in something for years.
What happened
A Master of Divinity in Christian Education, finished in 2015 without stepping away from the practice, alongside leading a middle school ministry, teaching a church small group, substitute teaching at his children's school, and five years on the board of Northland Christian School.
Where it carries over
Every one of those is a room where you explain something to people who did not come in knowing it and cannot be bluffed. There is no better rehearsal for a jury, and no way to fake having done it.
Photograph to place hereOne of the decks he built, in use, with the family on it. Real photograph, not stock.