Trial Law

Lawyers who actually spend time in court are few and far between. I'll say it again because most people don't know that this absolutely is true - Lawyers who actually spend time in court are few and far between. In fact, I would go as far to say that in Charlotte I know most of the attorneys by name who are in court on a regular basis. You might be surprised to learn that some big firm attorneys only actually try 2-4 cases a year! As a general rule, the larger the firm the fewer the trials. That is why the departments in these large firms are often referred to as "litigation sections" or "litigation departments". There is a difference between a litigator and a trial attorney. A litigator, for the most part, rarely steps foot in a courtroom - they are primarily a paper pusher. They file motions, do depositions, handle pleadings, in other words - push paper - but rarely actually attend trials. To make matters worse often their paralegals and legal assistants do the actual paper pushing for them ! There is nothing wrong with being a litigator, don't get me wrong, but don't think for a minute that all litigators are trial attorneys. I often wonder how could someone know if their attorney can handle the case if it goes to court BEFORE they hire that attorney? How would a client know that they are hiring a trial attorney and not a litigator or worse? That is a problem isn't it? One way to get a glimpse at the skills of an attorney is to ask them how many depositions they handled in the past month. How they answer this question may give you a good idea of how often they are in court. The answer to that question is the opposite of what most people think it should be. For the most part, if an attorney does a large number of depositions they spend little time in actual trials. Most attorneys who take a lot of depositions are litigators and not trial attorneys. Of course there are always exceptions but generally this is true.

So why does it matter?

But what is a client to do? How would a client know whether or not their attorney has the necessary court skills BEFORE they are in court with that attorney? That is a tough one isn't it?

At times during my legal career I've been in court every day. Sometimes I have handled 4-7 trials/hearings a day. In 20 years of practicing law I have rarely ever been in court less then 3 days in any given week. I am a trial attorney. If I don't practice in a certain area of the law I will let you know - up front - that your issue is something that I don't handle on a regular basis and then I will make every attempt to find you an attorney who specializes in that area. I will treat you as I would want to be treated. Remember, it is very difficult to start the process over once you are scheduled to go to court. It is important that you hire an attorney who can do the right job the right way - the first time. I am that lawyer. Please contact my office at (704) 737-8215 right now so that we can begin the process of getting your case in order.