Boutique Law Firms, Litigators, Small Law Firms, Trials

Take Care Of All Logistics Before Trial

As every experienced trial lawyer knows, expect the unexpected at trial.

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john-balestriere“Prepare, prepare, prepare” is an axiomatic rule of trial. During your preparations, it is important to handle all the logistics of your work prior to the trial so that they don’t slow you down in the midst of all the unexpected issues that may come up.

Every experienced trial lawyer knows to expect the unexpected at trial. When I started out as an assistant district attorney eons ago, a drawing went around the office showing a young lawyer, in a suit, holding notes in one hand, with his eyes over the other, clearly in a state of exhausted panic, with this caption: “The ADA Hearing His Witness On the Stand For the First Time.” Every trial lawyer knows this reality—no matter how much you prepare your witness, you simply do not know exactly what they will say. This is only one example of hundreds of issues that can come up at trial that you did not expect and, even with lots of preparation, could not have expected.

That is why getting all your logistical ducks in a row before trial becomes so essential. I recently was in an arbitration where we had an appropriately demanding panel who consistently wanted issues briefed or laid out for them. It was fun to work with my colleagues on interesting, even intriguing, legal issues that we could not have expected would be quite so intriguing, interesting or important to the panel weeks before. This meant lots of time thinking, talking, researching, and writing during a hearing where we also had to prepare witnesses, address client questions, and do all the things that come up when you are involved in a trial or hearing. This work is all-consuming in the most challenging, and, I think, the most enjoyable ways.

For that reason, it was essential that we followed the practice at our firm of being particular, even annoyingly meticulous, about ensuring that all logistics are taken care of well in advance of the hearing. What do I mean by “logistics”? I mean the simple things you need to have taken care of that are generally unappealing and have nothing to do with the specific issues in dispute, but that you need to handle so that the trial or hearing runs smoothly.

When and where is your team meeting each day before the trial or hearing? Will you have a war room? Where will it be? What about a printer? Is your usual printer close enough to the trial or hearing site? Will that printer provide you copies at three in the morning if needed? Who is going to be the lawyer or other professional in the office available for the during-trial issues that always come and need research or thought immediately? What technical equipment will you bring to the trial? How are people going to eat? If the trial or hearing is not in your city—and, sometimes, even if it is—where are people going to sleep to be rested and focused?

This is a very incomplete list. It is remarkably easy to let these things slide and have to worry about them the same day. Or, sometimes, as I’ve seen with bigger firms, these tasks are delegated (perhaps “relegated” is the better verb) to someone not on the trial team to just take care of, but if you’re not on the trial team you do not know the vagaries that may matter. For example, I mentioned the question of which printer you’ll use. Does that non-trial-team person know what kind of printing you will need—is it standard 8 1/2 x 11 printing, will it be in color, or will you need different-sized printing such as large demonstratives? Depending on who you’re giving your printing to (a judge, a tribunal of arbitrators, jurors, witnesses, others), in what form will it be? Only those on the trial team will know how to answer these quickly and precisely.

Being on your feet while cross examining a liar or convincing skeptical jurors that your side should win are certainly amongst the most interesting and fun parts of trial. It is important to handle all the nitty-gritty procedural planning to ensure that you get all your work done. Only that will ensure that while you’re doing your cross-examination or preparing your closing, you’re not worried about where your next meal is coming from or who has the laptop.

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John Balestriere is an entrepreneurial trial lawyer who founded his firm after working as a prosecutor and litigator at a small firm. He is a partner at trial and investigations law firm Balestriere Fariello in New York, where he and his colleagues represent domestic and international clients in litigation, arbitration, appeals, and investigations. You can reach him by email at john.g.balestriere@balestrierefariello.com.

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