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Respect Juries Even If You Don't Try Cases Often

Don't be a jerk who disserves your client; understand how juries will view your case to win more (and have more fun).

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juryIf you want to win and enjoy your work, don’t be an arrogant lawyer who complains about juries. Understand them to do a better job for your clients and have more fun.

I hate that self-absorbed lawyers frequently say how stupid juries are. I hear this kind of comment all the time—often from lawyers who have tried one case in ten years. Those (very insecure) lawyers are wrong: juries really struggle to get it right and bring a lot of smarts to a trial that lawyers often ignore. My colleagues and I always keep this in mind when preparing for trial and trying cases to juries.

But even if you try cases to juries infrequently, and even if you think that juries are reckless or get it wrong, you should still assess your case—including by engaging in specific preparation I’ll explain—based on what the potential jury will hear. Why? Because that is where you may end up, and you’ll enjoy yourself along the way.

Maybe the matter will be decided on a motion. Maybe—indeed, very likely—the matter will settle, on some terms, at some point. But maybe not. Plenty of cases that should settle still end up at trial. I practice primarily in the field of business litigation, where there are supposedly few trials. Yet, I’m in the middle of a nearly two-year run that will likely result in about a dozen state and federal court trials and arbitration hearings. And all those trials have been or will be before juries.

If you get outside your lawyer head (and the lawyer heads of your colleagues), you simply will challenge yourself to do a better job in your work. How exactly will you present the evidence to a group of (what will likely be) non-lawyers? What evidentiary rules even allow you to get that evidence in? Will the other side complain about that evidence? How will you deal with that? And are you going to bore a jury to death with this story of a private-equity dispute? Where’s the narrative? The justice?

There’s a fairly easy way to get some sense of how a jury will view your matter: use mock juries. There are fantastically priced services out there that will prepare mock juries for you. Or you can go on Craigslist and get half a dozen or a dozen people from the jurisdiction where the trial will take place and can simply ask them about your case. Whatever you do, get that outside view to build a stronger case. It will help even if you do not ultimately try the case.

And you will have more fun, too. If you’re like me, you probably have too many friends who are lawyers. They look at the world a lot like the way you do. Getting the perspective of regular, non-lawyers to discuss your case is simply enjoyable. You’ll likely be surprised by the completely different views on your case different jurors can have. And you’ll almost certainly be entertained by the commentary.

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Don’t be a jerk who disserves your client. Understand how juries will view your case to win more and have more fun.

john-balestriereJohn 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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