Lawyers really do get better over time: experienced litigators overall are just better than young litigators. Young lawyers should acknowledge this, be humble, and then figure out how to win anyway.
I was fortunate enough to attend a so-called good law school and, my goodness, did the people who attended there remind themselves of how “elite” we supposedly were at every turn. I volunteered to work at the graduation of each of the two classes who graduated ahead of me (free food) and, at both graduations, a faculty member mentioned how the school was “one of the,” or “the,” “finest law school in the world” (making me think how “finest” was somehow a kind of genteel Ivy-league cool-speak for “the best”).
All of these “finest” young lawyers graduated. And across the board we had our butts kicked. There was this or that one who claimed to work on some mega deal, or claimed to second-seat some mega trial where the fate of the universe was at issue, or who claimed to write the constitution for a new country somewhere (the last ones became law professors, of course). But the ones that admitted the truth acknowledged how we were confused and bewildered — as a colleague of mine put it in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office where I started my work, we hoped that after a year we were only committing malpractice on a weekly, rather than a daily, basis. We were total novices, while, at least for the luckiest of us, we somewhat amazingly were getting paid for a frankly fantastic thrill ride.
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We had zero idea what we were doing. This is partly because, unlike doctors, schools do next to nothing in our general classes to train us how to be practicing professionals. But it was, and remains, simpler than that: we were new. And we were blessed to have a job where you really do get better with time. Years ago I had lunch with a great lawyer, now a Federal Circuit Judge, at the time a District Judge, who — in genuine humility — shared with me how he believed that we were in a great profession. As he put it, unlike athletes or academics who peak early, we could just keep getting better and better. I would like to think that accomplished lawyer, and still serving judge I get to argue before sometimes, was dead right (not least, perhaps, because I’m over 40 now).
So what does this mean for young trial lawyers who have to face off against far more experienced adversaries? Give up? Accept that the experienced guy will win? No way. Still try to win. Always, always work to win. I say to my lawyers, including the ones months out of law school, that we always must be the best lawyer in the courtroom. Period. Most obviously, this means working harder than your adversary. It also means seeking direction and counsel from any colleague or mentor you can. But it also means setting aside ego: do not pretend you’re wonderful and perfect and that your stuff doesn’t smell. Acknowledge, despite what these silly shows on ABC pretend (that channel loves the legal shows, doesn’t it?), that young lawyers know jack and have much to learn in a millennia old profession. You have much to learn, but you can.
And — while I never, ever suggest you underestimate your adversary — young lawyers should remember how presumptuous senior lawyers can be. Once good lawyers get good, man, they are worse than those young graduates from the “finest” law schools. I do not (generally) quote Satan, but a line from Al Pacino’s version of the Fallen Angel is instructive: “Don’t get too cocky, my boy. No matter how good you are, don’t ever let them see you coming. That’s the gaffe, my friend. You gotta keep yourself small. Innocuous. Be the little guy. You know, the nerd . . . the leper . . . shit-kickin’ serf.”
There’s a reason why the more conservative clients hire the graybeards (I’m over 40, as noted, but no gray yet, so I have to worry about this, seriously, when trying to get clients). Clients think that if a lawyer has been doing “it” for 30 years they are better than the lawyer who has been doing “it” for three. And, generally, this prospective client is right. But there is the opportunity for the extra hard working, extra focused, extra humble young lawyer to win and beat even the most experienced adversary.
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As Mr. Pacino/Lucifer put it, “Look at me. Underestimated from day one. You’d never think I was a master of the universe, now would ya?” Deviousness aside, if you’re a young lawyer, let them underestimate you, but work hard enough to beat them anyway.
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 [email protected].