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 […]
Scripting a Trial: Part 1
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 […]
Re-thinking Litigation Evidence Management, Part 2
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. The ultimate objective is to categorize and tag evidence for […]
Front End Loading: A Smarter Case Approach for Plaintiffs
Many plaintiff’s lawyers find themselves bogged down in motion practice and discovery disputes that can drag out a case for months or years. Apart from the delays, such sideshows detract from the central mission of trial lawyering: talking to witnesses, learning the case and preparing for trial. Sometimes these distractions can’t be helped, but just […]
Podcast with Chelsie Lamie, Rising Star in Trial Law
In this TrialFocus Podcast episode, Chelsie describes how she juggles a thriving trial practice, a family and mentoring novice personal injury lawyers.
Can Trial Lawyers Truly Be Happy?
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. The problem seems particularly acute for trial lawyers who face the zero-sum game of winning and losing. And yet, trial […]