As the saying goes, a good lawyer knows the law, a great lawyer knows the judge. Building credibility with the court in any case is vital. Veteran attorney and longtime judge Mark Drummond explains why and how you earn trust. 

Trust and credibility are built brick by brick. It takes a lifetime to build your reputation, but breach that trust once, and the judge will never forget. And make no mistake, judges talk among themselves, so willful missteps will be known across the courthouse and for the rest of your career. 

Understand the meaning of “candor to the tribunal.” When dealing with a judge, telling the truth is one thing. That can mean presenting the strengths of your case. But candor is what you also share with the judge beyond that, the thorns of the case. Judges who feel you weren’t completely candid may never fully take you at your word again. They may forever wonder what you’re withholding.

If you’ve ever wondered what a judge is thinking about you, Judge Drummond lets you know and shares some of his favorite tips for building credibility and putting your best foot forward from the moment you walk into the courtroom. 

Resources: 

Previous appearance on the Legal Talk Network, “NYU’s Civil Jury Project (State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting 2024),” State Bar of Texas Podcast

American Bar Association “Free Legal Answers” 

Civil Jury Project, NYU School of Law 

Susman Agreements: Clarity for the Rules of Civil Procedure 

Access to Counsel Project, Federal Bar Counsel 

“Dealing With Jerks,” by Judge Mark Drummond in ABA Litigation News 

“Understanding the Pareto Principle (The 80/20 Rule),” Better Explained 

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Is your career stuck in a rut? Hear what it takes to carve a meaningful career in law, as host Michal “Mic” Rogson sits down with Jill Wine-Banks, a history making lawyer who served as the only woman on the Watergate prosecution team and left a trail of shattered glass ceilings throughout her career.

Wine-Banks shares how she built her extraordinary career tackling organized crime, a corrupt president, and led military and state legal teams. She headed the American Bar Association, corporate legal departments, and went on to host influential podcasts, published an autobiography, and serves as a legal consultant and contributor for MSNBC.

Feeling locked in place in your career? Wine-Banks offers motivational insights about taking risks, moving forward, and never settling for the status quo. What do you really want to do, and what’s holding you back?

Throughout her fascinating career, Wine-Banks continually accepted new challenges, broke down barriers, and reinvented herself over and over again.

Resources: 

iGen Politics podcast

Just the Facts podcast

Jill Wine-Banks, Wikipedia entry

“The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President,” by Jill Wine-Banks

“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,” by Erving Goffman, Amazon

“Gideon's Trumpet: How One Man, a Poor Prisoner, Took His Case to the Supreme Court and Changed the Law of the United States,” by Anthony Lewis

Assembly of Captive European Nations, Wikipedia

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Let’s talk about associate retention, keeping those young lawyers you’ve recruited and mentored at your firm. It shouldn’t be a given that every associate will take what you’ve taught them to another firm in two or three years. Guest Ben Dachepalli is a veteran lawyer and a partner in the Tampa office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP specializing in construction law.

As a senior member of his firm, Dachepalli says retaining young associates is more than a transactional activity, it’s building the firm and developing the next generation of leaders. When he’s interviewing prospective hires, “I’m not interviewing my next associate, I’m interviewing my future partners.” Don’t think of young lawyers as associates who will move on—  develop them so they not only want to stay but also want to become leaders in your firm. 

For Dachepalli, the “secret sauce” is an inclusive, team-based approach. Ensure associates are involved and invested in the firm’s success, not simply completing assigned and rote tasks. Communicate with associates as peers, give them responsibilities, and show them they are valued. 

Involving associates in multiple levels of a case and asking for their input from the start not only shows them you value their skills, but also helps senior attorneys spot unexpected angles and see a case from a different perspective. (And remember, today’s young lawyers grew up with today’s technology, they might even teach you something).

Resources:

⁠American Bar Association⁠

⁠American Bar Association Litigation Section⁠

When do you need to start thinking about finding and retaining your expert witnesses as cases progress through the litigation process? Timing is a critical part of your strategy. Often, it’s “the earlier, the better.”

Guest Monica Poole is the director of expert witness services at Round Table Group, a national firm that helps litigators connect with trusted and vetted expert witnesses. Poole explains how the best experts can be hard to find, have busy schedules, and can help plot strategies from the beginning so you avoid dead ends and focus your energy.

From the plaintiff’s side, the more complex the case the more important it is to start early. Do you truly have a case? An expert can help decide if a case is worth litigating. From the defense side, an early start can be valuable when a case demands an expert in narrow, niche fields. In many cases, attorneys are racing the clock with looming court deadlines.

Not all experts are equal. The best not only provide technical input but also help craft discovery demands, decipher provided materials, and skillfully explain complex topics in layman’s terms to a judge and jury. Knowing when, and how, to engage the right expert is a critical part of every case. Hear how working with a service such as Round Table Group can help build and present a case and drive it to a successful conclusion.

Resources:

Round Table Group

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

In this episode, we say farewell to longtime host Dave Scriven-Young as he turns the podcast hosting duties over to James “Jim” Reeder and Michal “Mic” Rogson. Beginning with the next episode, Jim, an accomplished commercial trial litigator, and Michal, a veteran litigator who strives to turn complex legal issues into clear, concise arguments, will continue Dave’s passion for helping lawyers and law firms thrive. 

Dave leaves with a few words of advice for both rising young attorneys and established firms looking to the next step. “Build a career that you’ll still love in 20 years,” he says. Curate your life, not just your résumé, and do the things that bring you satisfaction. Learn to say no early in your career. Not every challenge is right for you, and too much static can lead to burnout. Build relationships and guard your reputation, people remember you as a person long after they’ve read your résumé. Assess every step of your career and pivot as needed, people and situations change. And finally, know when to lift up others, help those coming up behind you, be a mentor, and share what you’ve learned.

Dave will continue to remain active in the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and is always eager to meet listeners and share stories at Litigation Section events.

Resources:

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

American Bar Association Litigation Journal

Mediation has become the rule, not the exception, in litigation. It’s a half a billion-dollar industry with some 90 percent of cases settled outside the courtroom. That’s why mediation and negotiation skills are so critical for all litigators regardless of practice area. It’s about knowing how to manage a mediation and knowing how to find and agree to a mediator or arbitrator. 

Host Jim Reeder is a longtime, accomplished litigator with a deep understanding of the nuances of successful mediation. And guest John Barkett is an experienced, internationally recognized, and board-certified mediator and arbitrator, overseeing settlements in complex cases involving environmental law and construction.

Mediating or arbitrating a case is a complicated and deeply rewarding field, as Barkett explains. Not only are experience and training crucial, but a successful outcome can also rely on a mediator’s temperament. For litigators, finding the right mediator is vital. If you haven’t been involved in a high-stakes arbitration or mediation, you will be someday. 

Get real insights you can use from true pros, from choosing the right mediator to preparing clients for their role and making your opening presentation. Learn what you need to do in advance and how to evaluate risks and likely outcomes before you walk into a session.

Plus, a quick tip from Elizabeth S. “Beth” Fenton, author, experienced attorney, and co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Mental Health & Wellness Committee. 

Resources: 

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

American Bar Association Litigation Section committee on Mental Health & Wellness

E-discovery is one of the hottest areas of litigation today. AI chats, Slack and social media, and confidentiality concerns are big news. As the field advances, it’s becoming increasingly important that legal professionals understand not just how to manage their own team’s data, but also what to ask for in discovery.

Guest Nicole Gill, author of Best Practices for E-Discovery: A Practical Handbook (American Bar Association), explains how new sources of digital data emerge almost daily and how rules of collecting and preserving data trails, as well as data generated by AI chatbots, are constantly evolving. You need to stay up to date or you’ll be left behind.

Knowing how to broadly expand your discovery requests can be crucial. It’s every attorney’s duty to understand the digital environments where important information, records, and communications live (and sometimes hide). Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Slack are changing the way your own clients, and any subject of discovery requests, communicate. What must be preserved and what can be reviewed? And how are countries outside the United States (including China and the EU) managing data and privacy?

Plus, a quick tip from guest Lindsay Polega as she explores the value of taking on pro bono work. It can be hard to take a full-time job fighting for justice. Those jobs don’t pay well, and many attorneys are wrestling with overwhelming student loans. But you can still do good by taking on some pro bono work, helping others while getting back to the ideals that got you into the field of law.

Resources:

Slack

WhatsApp

Snapchat

ChatGPT

Thomson Reuters CoCounsel

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Get down with lawyers who rock, and some rock that led to lawsuits. Litigators Andrés Correa and Chris Patton of the Dallas firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP are both rock and rollers and accomplished litigators.

Hear how they make time for their passion for music, and how the outlet releases stress and opens paths to creative thinking and strategies they’ve applied to their legal careers and cases. Their passion for music inspired them to co-write the Litigation article “Rock Around the Court: How Copyright Litigation Reflects the Muddy Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which explores the legal issues surrounding music and creativity.

As those who came before influence styles later, music copyright claims have led to legal cases that shape the world of music and art. Lawsuits continue to this day. What’s “inspiration” and what’s copyright infringement? From Elvis to Led Zepplin to today.

Now, imagine where the brave new world of AI is going to take us.

Resources:

“Rock Around the Court: How Copyright Litigation Reflects the Muddy Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” by Chris Patton and Andrés Correa, Litigation Journal

“Jimmy Page, Sony Pictures Sued by Songwriter Over Led Zeppelin Song,” Reuters

“Led Zeppelin Emerges Victor in 'Stairway to Heaven' Plagiarism Case,” Reuters

“George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” Copyright Case,” Performing Songwriter “Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams to Pay $5 Million to Marvin Gaye Estate for 'Blurred Lines'” NBC News

“Reggaeton Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Targeting Over 100 of the Genre’s Biggest Acts to Move Forward,” Variety

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section

The imbalance of power in the courtroom is often very real whether that’s a David vs. Goliath battle pitting a small-firm plaintiff against a corporate giant, or a situation where a judgment-proof or anonymous defendant evades accountability. The scales of justice are sometimes uneven.

Guests Marcus Chatterton and Fred Tecce are veteran litigators who have found themselves in countless courtroom skirmishes opposing all manner of large and small businesses in a variety of corporate, patent, trademark, criminal, and personal injury issues. They explain how tech can help balance an imbalance of resources. Deep pockets may have been an advantage, whether that’s in the form of available manpower or the ultimate ability to pay a claim. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

Modern, novel legal approaches and today’s tech tools can help level the playing field as software programs can analyze mountains of evidence that used to require hours of poring through boxes of paper that could overwhelm small firms. “Technology assisted review” is a growing field. Will AI further help attorneys battle an information dump in discovery or chase down anonymous actors and follow online breadcrumbs?

The key is pairing legal skills and experience with tech, not only learning to use the newest tools but also learning to explain the findings and methodology to a judge and jury. Technology is changing everything from the way you prepare for trial to the way you present your case. Whether you’re a “Goliath” with a duty to assemble and turn over mountains of discovery, or a “David” faced with digging through that evidence and uncovering precedents that back your client, tech tools are blazing a new trail.

Resources:

“The Prelitigation Advantage: Leveraging AI for Discovery and Pleadings,” by Nicole Black, ABA Journal
National Institute for Trial Advocacy
Thomson Reuters Legal Technology
Westlaw
Oncue Legal Presentation Software
“WIPO Guide to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)”
“PGA Golfer Phil Mickelson Sues to Find Source of 'Defamation'”
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Litigation Section 

What’s it like to be a prosecutor in a case so high-profile it was dubbed “the trial of the century”? This special episode of Litigation Radio features guest John Meadors, the veteran murder trial prosecutor hired by the South Carolina Attorney General’s office to help prosecute prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh in the sensational 2023 murder trial. In South Carolina, there had perhaps never been a more highly watched and scrutinized trial, and reporters and TV trucks filled the courtroom and the streets.

Hear how Meadors and the prosecution team maintained focus and composure under the glare of television cameras and inside a packed courtroom facing a highly skilled and experienced defense team. The pressure during the weeks-long trial was enormous as reporters struggled to uncover every detail while attorneys and the court worked to maintain decorum and ensure a fair and just outcome. 

Meadors will join the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section Annual Conference as a guest in a session titled, “The Court of Public Opinion: Litigating in the Media Spotlight.” In addition to the conversation with John Meadors, this episode features Larry Kristinik, Chair of the ABA Litigation Section, who provides tips on preparing for large legal conferences, and Judge Griselda Vega Samuel, who highlights the upcoming ABA Litigation Section Annual Conference in Chicago.

Mentioned in This Episode:

“'He lied and lied!' John Meadors closing argument in Alex Murdaugh trial: full video” YouTube 

“Trial of Alex Murdaugh,” Wikipedia

“To Crown a King, Kill the Law,” by Leonard Niehoff, Detroit Daily News

Professor Leonard Niehoff: 

“Mathew Rosengart, Power Litigator Who Freed Britney Spears From Conservatorship, Closes Chapter of Representing Pop Superstar,” The Hollywood Reporter

American Bar Association 2025 Litigation Section Annual Conference April 30 – May 2, 

American Bar Association

American Bar Association Litigation Section