Being "Ready" and Being "Prepared"

There's an old chestnut about lawyers being one or the other, but not both.

Lawyers who have been around the block a few times can be "ready" to make an argument in no time flat. They have done it before, they know the nuances, and they know how to adapt to facts they may not have caught the first time around.

Lawyers who are "prepared" know the facts, but they still need to put together the argument itself. They need to be able to adapt and roll with the punches as their adversary comes up with something unexpected.

Of course, it's better to be both, but if you don't have the experience to be "ready," you need to be prepared.