The Ability to Organize Great trial lawyers spin plates. Lots of plates. (Those of you who do not remember "The Ed Sullivan Show" may not appreciate this metaphor. Learn about it here.) Law firm management requires time. Training of associates and others requires time. Bar associations require time. Families require…
The Ability to Pull the Trigger Trial lawyers a required to make a large number of decisions. Some are minor (e.g. do I ask this interrogatory in this case?) and some are major (e.g. should I settle with one of multiple defendants in a case in which several liability applies?). Great…
Great Trial Lawyers Understand the Importance of Depositions Great trial lawyers understand the value of depositions, and whether the deposition is taken personally or the task is delegated to another, go into a deposition with clearly defined goals determined after adequate preparation. The diminishing number of trials means that many…
Great Trial Lawyers Learn the Facts. I was in a deposition several months ago in a case that involves an intersection wreck. There are several different plaintiffs represented by several different lawyers, several defendants, and counsel for a UM carrier. My conversation with one of the lawyers caused me to wonder to ask…
Here are the opening paragraphs of my December 15, 2007 post that gave rise to a series of posts that has garnered a good deal of attention: I participated in a panel discussion at for the Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association on Friday and was asked this…
6. Great Trial Lawyers Don’t Cheat There are lots of opportunities to cheat in the practice of law. You can withhold information during the discovery process. You can improperly coach a witness or client. You can knowingly violate orders on motions in limine. You can knowingly violate the rules of…
5. A Great Trial Lawyer Maintains A Reasonable Caseload In Part 4 we discussed the fact that great trial lawyers take time to think about their cases. And we mentioned that many lawyer argue that they don’t have time to think. I suggest that there are only four possible reasons…
A Great Trial Lawyer Takes Time to Think It is easy to get lost in the daily grind of litigation. The phone constantly rings. The computer’s “ding” tells us that another email has arrived. Each piece of mail brings another task and another deadline. Each fax brings bad news, especially…
2. A Solid Knowledge of the Law of Evidence. You have to know the facts. But mere knowledge of facts doesn’t do your client much good. You have to know how to get those facts before a factfinder. In other words, you need to understand the law of evidence. The…
I participated in a panel discussion at for the Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association on Friday and was asked this question: what does it take to be a great litigator? I knew in advance that I would be asked that question and gave the matter a good…