We love being trial lawyers.

And there are many reasons for that.

In this episode, we'll discuss some of those reasons.

And we illustrate these reasons with a story that pretty much sums it all up.

For more information about Lauren Byrne:

https://martinwrenlaw.com/about/attorneys/lauren-m-byrne/

For more information about Bob Byrne:

https://martinwrenlaw.com/about/attorneys/robert-byrne/

Charlottesville VA Office of MartinWren, P.C.

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Harrisonburg VA Office of MartinWren, P.C.

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So you are starting your new firm or perhaps you are growing. You need help, and you are having a hard time finding someone you can trust.

You start to wonder if maybe your spouse might be able to help. Or maybe it is a sibling, parent, child, or best friend.

Is that a good idea? Like most questions in the law, it depends.

There are a number of things you want to consider before you make that plunge. 

Do you have the same skill sets, or are you more complementary?

Can you let one person be the decisionmaker who is in charge?

Do you communicate well, especially under stressful circumstances?

These and other things are vital questions to ask. Admittedly, based on the circumstances we faced, we did not go through this analysis. But, looking back, these are the things that have popped up that we've had to deal with.

As always, we are glad to chat if you are considering taking this plunge with a family member or close friend. For us, it has been a great decision. But that decision may not be the best for everyone.

On the last full business day of 2024, we take a look back on our past year.

Maybe you've played the game Rose, Bud, Thorn. Well, that's our format for today.

We've had some really good things happen in 2024. For one, we were able to help our clients get some sense of justice. Bob received his board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

We also a thorn of sorts -- we did not get a chance to try any cases to a jury this year.  This is the first year in the last several years where we did not get to try one.

We also have several buds in the works.  New team members joining the team. Lots of cases -- particularly tractor trailer and other commercial motor vehicle cases -- that we will litigating and getting ready for trial.

In all, 2024 was a good year, one where we laid a lot of groundwork for big things to come!

#triallawyers #yearinreview

Some trial attorneys will discuss the concept of fear, that gripping emotion that can cause us to doubt just about everything that we are doing.

Oftentimes, those discussions of fear are general in nature but are not really identified.  That makes fear this boogey man that is lurking but mysterious, never really able to be mastered.

In this episode, we do a deep dive into the various types of fears that trial lawyers face. We identify the types of fears that pop up, identify when they are most likely to happen, and discuss ways that we have confronted and overcome those fears.

Those fears include:

• fear of failure and losing;
• fear of rejection;
• fear of the "unknowns";
• performance anxiety;
• fear of getting in trouble or making mistakes

Any attorney who is doing things on their own will feel, at least temporarily, these emotions.  And there can be a healthy dose of fear when doing these things.

We identify when those fears become unhealthy and offer tips for triumphing over fear. 

There is an old African proverb that says, "if you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together."

Trying cases to juries is done best when you use a team approach.

In this episode, we'll talk about some of the hazards of solo trial work.  Sure, you can do a jury trial by yourself.  You can handle every phase of the trial, from jury selection to opening, direct exams, to crosses, jury instructions to motions to strike.

But flying solo is not the best or most effective way to try a case.  There are just too many phases of trial with too much depth for you to be able o do everything as well as possible.

We will talk not just about the benefits of teamwork, but we'll focus on the specific roles that should be filled when you are building out your trial team roster. 

We'll go beyond first and second chairs and talk about the witness wrangler, the tech guru, the designated hitter, the legal eagle back at the office, and the gatekeeper who is guarding the home front.

This has worked for us.  It has not only improved our results, but it has made things much less stressful, much more fun, and everyone is deeply invested.

#triallawyer #teambuilding #lawyerlife #trialteam #dreamteam

Young or aspiring trial lawyers will most likely have to cut their proverbial teeth on small cases that seem really inconsequential.

The cases seem small.  Dull. A waste of time. 

These cases are not only ones on which you will not make any money, they are likely cases in which you will LOSE money.

But as we discuss on this episode of the podcast, those cases might be some of the most important ones you will handle in your career.

Those cases will give you experience.  They will help develop and shape your reputation as a fighter.  And they will help you shake off the dreaded "imposter syndrome."

We learned how to try cases by taking cases that everyone else rejected. We aren't the first to do that, nor are we the last.  But we think it is vitally important for all aspiring trial lawyers to do.

If this describes you and your practice, dig in and fight.  You'll be glad you did.  So will your clients.

#triallawyers #trialattorneys #jurytrial #impostersyndrome

It seems like everyone in the legal profession talks about "work-life balance."

We have been wrongfully accused of having an optimal work-life balance.  The reality is that our balancing act is more like children on a teeter-totter or seesaw, where true balance is fleeting.  Instead, you are just bouncing from one extreme to another.

That's certainly been the case with us.  Last year ended up being way too much work.  This year, however, we've been tied up with a bit too much "life."

THings were off-balance enough that we didn't get a summer vacation this year. And as Bob will lament in this video, that's not great.  But as we work through the issue and untangle it in this episode, maybe it was a good summer to be off balance in the way that we were.

#triallawyers #lawyerlife #litigationandtrial #trialattorneys

Bringing a personal injury claim is not easy.  It will be inconvenient for a plaintiff at best, downright miserable in the worst case scenario.

Given that personal injury cases can be so difficult and unpleasant, it is a worthwhile and meaningful question for someone to ask: "What is my personal injury case worth?"

In this episode we'll look at five ways we determine the value of a case. We can get a pretty good idea from these methods whether a settlement offer is a good one or a poor one.

Do you have other things you look at to determine value?

#personalinjury #casevalue #triallawyers

Abraham Lincoln once said that if he had 6 hours to cut down a tree, he'd spend 4 hours sharpening the axe.

Trial lawyers are all too familiar with this concept.  Not only must we keep our axe sharp for the work we do, there are several axes that we must have at our disposal.  And each of them must be constantly sharpened.

In this episode, we will talk about three particular areas -- or axes -- that trial lawyers must keep sharp.

The axes are substantive law and medicine, tactics and strategy, and presentation skills.

We'll talk about each of these areas and ways we utilize to keep our axes sharpened.

Trial lawyers love to talk about their wins.  Their big verdicts, their huge settlements.

Do they start their careers out hitting homerun after homerun?  Maybe some do.

But that is not our story.  In this episode we talk about the first two trials we did as a team.

They were utter disasters.

We should have known from the time we set the cases for trial that we were in trouble.  Though the cases were set more than half a year in advance, we made the mistake of setting the two trials on consecutive days.

Things got worse. Bob's trial ended up in a defense verdict. He had to then pack up his car to head to the next town to join Lauren at the hotel for her first civil jury trial that started the next day. 

Things then just contined to get worse, as the trial judge granted a motion to strike the evidence at the end of the first day of trial.  So, in other words, the case got dismissed. 

That means in the course of about 28 hours, hundreds of hours of our work went up in smoke.  We were both devastated.

But the story did not end there. Tune in to listen how things turned out.

At the end, trial lawyers can expect losses.  Most of those losses will not have a happy ending. 

The key is to persevere, to be resilient. If you have been called to be a trial lawyer, you must be faithful to that call.

And that means dealing with inevitable losses.