Do Your Job as a Lawyer
Ouch. That’s a harsh headline. But if you don’t do your job, don’t be surprised if the jury doesn’t do your job for you. Here’s what I mean.
- If you don’t care about your client, don’t be surprised if the jury doesn’t care about your client and gives you a low verdict.
- If you can’t be bothered to dig through all of the facts and figure out what the case is really about, then don’t be surprised if the jury doesn’t figure it out either. You’re the attorney, with lots of time to figure the case out. If you can’t boil it down to the basics, don’t expect someone to do your job for you.
- If you can’t find the human drama and the storyline in what your client has gone through, don’t be surprised if the jury doesn’t either.
It takes a lot of work to boil things down to the basics. It’s easy to write a 20 page appellate brief. A two and a half page brief takes about ten times as long to write. Of course, which one is more effective? The shorter one of course.
A number of years ago, I was doing a zoning appeal. The attorney handling the case in front of me went on for over 20 minutes. The zoning board told him that he made a very convincing argument and they were willing to vote for him, but they were unable to tell what it was that he wanted them to do. Ouch.
It’s our job to present as simple of a picture as possible. It’s also our job to present as human a picture as possible. It’s not a soft-tissue case. His name is Tony and this is how the wreck has effected his life…
