A young lawyer came to see me yesterday. 

"How do you win cases?" 

The answer to that is not as simple as you might imagine. A friend and mentor says that he has "not lost a jury trial in over thirty years." Really? No losses? 

"Well, it kinda’ depends how you define ‘lost’!"

And that may be true, but what I have learned from that friend and mentor, and from watching some of the best trial lawyers in the land is that preparation is the key to success in court.

The difference is preparation. Period.

Not a Harvard education. Not having worked as a prosecutor, public defender, or judge. And certainly not having been in the courtroom for 20 or 30 years. 

The key to success – whether that is winning outright or obtaining the best possible result for your case – is preparation. Preparation is time spent getting ready for trial. 

So how can you help your lawyer get ready to win your case? Here are three ideas:

First – tell the lawyer the whole truth.

Second – empower the lawyer to spend the time he or she needs to get fully prepared.

Third – take his or her advice!

And if you are a lawyer reading this, remember that our obligation is to get ready for trial as best we can. If you don’t have time for the client, don’t take the case.

Now back to preparing for trial for me. One to go in January, another in February, and then three more later this year. Five trials may not sound like a lot, but getting ready to try those cases can take a lot of time.

How about you? Getting ready for trial? If you’re a lawyer with issues you need to bounce off another lawyer, give me a call. Let’s talk about your case.