You may be a good trial lawyer. You may even be a great trial lawyer. People may know you. The prosecution may respect you. Insurance companies may be afraid of you. That’s great, but the jury doesn’t care. The jury doesn’t know who you are. The jury doesn’t know what you’ve done. The jury doesn’t care about how good you’ve been in other trials.
The jury only cares about what it can see–how good are you at convincing them in this trial. The only thing that matters in trial is how good are you at convincing this jury, in this trial. If you want to win, you need to bring your game, not your name. If you want to win you have to remember that past victories have absolutely zero impact on your ability to win the next trial.
You Forget The Lesson At Your Client’s Peril
This is probably one of the most important lessons that was passed down to me by one of my mentors. And it is a lesson that is easy to forget. It is easy to forget because once you start getting caught up in winning you start to feel invincible.
If you find yourself in that position I want you to remember–you forget this lesson at your client’s peril.
Be Mindful Of The Winning Streak Curse
A winning streak might make you feel good, but it is also a curse. If you let it get to your head you run the risk of not putting in as much time into your next trial as you should. This is a tragic mistake. It doesn’t matter how good you were during your last trial, the only thing that matters is how good you are at convincing this jury, in this trial.
Good luck in your next trial, and remember–bring your game, not your name.
