There is no getting around it – the process of learning a case is hard work. It means taking the time to interview the client and potential witnesses, and reviewing documents to separate the wheat from the chaff.
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Much has been written about trial notebooks as an organizational tool to house all the important information for use at trial. Undoubtedly, a trial attorney should begin assembling a trial notebook sufficiently in advance of trial – arguably months before the docket call.
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Trial lawyering is a contact sport. To succeed, you need a level of endurance and mental toughness made possible only to those who take care of their mind and body.
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Jury trials don’t simply happen. Trial presentations are the product of months of preparation and planning that some refer to as “scripting a trial.” In a previous article, I described the process of creating witness outlines as the foundation for all other trial preparation. This process necessarily forces a trial attorney to identify exhibits that […]
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Trial lawyers with a “barrister” mindset know that early trial preparation is a key to success. How early? To have a winning edge, you should begin this process before the completion of discovery. The process I will describe below will reveal evidentiary problems with witness questioning that you’ll still have time to solve before it’s […]
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Litigation document management is central to a trial-ready law practice. In a previous article, I proposed that trial lawyers need to think about the stages of that process and not simply let documents and data meander through the practice and get lost along the way.
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Many plaintiff’s lawyers find themselves bogged down in motion practice and discovery disputes that can drag out a case for months or years.
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Alongside the Federal Rules of Evidence, a working knowledge of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is mandatory for anyone who hopes to build a civil-trial practice. While making the rules simple may be a stretch, I propose that one can simplify the civil litigation “road map” and thereby understand how the rules fit together. […]
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Is it possible for trial lawyers to achieve work-life balance? Much has been written about the unhappiness of lawyers. From crushing work hours to needy or ungrateful clients, many experience burnout and seek alternative careers.
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Law360 recently reported that layoffs have hit the American Bar Association (ABA) following years of declining membership rates, with approximately 4% of the ABA’s workforce expected to get a pink slip or accept a voluntary buyout within days.
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