Daily Inspiration Quote by George Carman

"Exercise caution, as I have advised many people" is the kind of line only a lawyer can deliver while revealing almost nothing and still sounding authoritative. Carman isn’t selling wisdom so much as positioning himself: the speaker is an experienced operator, someone who has seen how easily confident people talk themselves into trouble. The phrase "exercise caution" is bland on purpose, a verbal seatbelt. It’s advice that can’t be falsified, which is precisely why it functions so well in legal culture, where the wrong adjective can become Exhibit A.

The subtext sits in the second clause. "As I have advised many people" is credentialing disguised as modesty. It quietly asserts volume of experience and, by implication, proximity to risk: I’ve stood next to enough messes to know what they smell like. It also hints at a lawyer’s recurring frustration - clients want boldness and certainty; the lawyer’s job is to slow the movie down, point to the lurking liabilities, and make everyone sign something.

In context, Carman’s era of high-profile British advocacy prized theatrical cross-examination and media attention, but the profession still runs on controlled language. This sentence is controlled language. It’s a warning that doubles as reputation management, for both adviser and advised: be careful, and remember that I told you to be careful. The genius is its self-protection. It’s counsel, yes, but it’s also a paper trail in human form.