Preparation for Trial

• Author: John Hollander
• Pages: 85-97

preparation for trial

85

chapter five

Preparation for Trial

   was a young litigator, I have been able to

recognize and appreciate the skill of the senior members

of our local bar. What set them apart was the degree to

which they were able to synthesize dicult concepts into

simple explanations. I understood even then the amount

of preparation necessary to accomplish this — they pre-

pared their clients and themselves. In those rare cases when

they argued for a position that had little chance of success,

they did so with the best facts and arguments available.

When settlement negotiations proceeded, they conceded

obviously lost points, and they rarely went to trial with

a weak hand to play. I also observed that judges, both ex-

perienced and inexperienced alike, deferred to these senior

members in motions and pre-trials. ey even did so when

they set trial dates: judges relied upon these lawyers for the

estimated length of trial and for the chances of settlement.

It is no stretch to suggest that a litigator starts to

prepare for trial with the initial interview of the client.

While you learn of the client’s story, you start the process

by which you t the story into a theory that leads from

complaint to solution. In addition, you start to assess the