Litigators

How To Find Your Litigation Style

No matter what style you have, there is a firm or company that will have the same litigation philosophy as you.

By Peter S. Garnett  
on

As a fairly young litigator, I think it’s very important to determine what kind of litigator you want to be early in your career. As you get more comfortable with your litigation style, it will help you become a more confident attorney. But how do you find your way when you start a new job at a new firm? Are you going to be the aggressive litigator who is ready to fight for any and everything, or are you going to take a more conciliatory tone and try to get things done as efficiently as possible? Maybe you will work well with another lawyer on your team and do a good cop, bad cop routine. No matter what, you need to adopt a style in litigation.

To that end, I believe you must lean on your more experienced colleagues. I always think you should never hesitate to ask questions of your more experienced colleagues. The advice from more experienced attorneys is invaluable. They may have already been through what you are going through, and they have certainly found a style that works for them.

No one likes observing other litigators in action, but I do think that this is a great way to find your litigation style. Always take the opportunity to observe your more experienced colleagues in court, on a call, or at a meeting. You may find that just observing what works for another person, may work for you.

Of course, sometimes the style you choose is dependent on the specific case you are working on. With that in mind, it’s always good practice to know your case and client as well as possible. Tailoring your style to the needs of the case and the client is a great way to get things done (and to look good in front of your superiors and clients).

Knowing your adversary is extremely important too. Often, your adversary will dictate how you approach a litigation. Perhaps your adversary has a reputation for being tough on his or her opponents. Or maybe your adversary wants to have informal calls to work things out instead of getting the court involved right away. But while it’s great to get a read on your adversary, you should not let it fully change the way you litigate. You have obviously gotten to where you are by being a good attorney and practicing in a way that you feel works for you.

Finally, it is good to know what your firm’s or company’s reputation is in the litigation world. I always recommend doing research on a firm before joining. See if there are any posts about how the firm or company practices law. Are they known for being litigious and fighting tooth and nail for everything or do they see the big picture and try to foster good relations with the client or other firms/companies? Being able to know what you are getting into before you join a firm or company is important.

But if you find that your firm’s litigation strategy does not jive with your own litigation style, then you may need to look for a different firm. If you are more of a “bulldog litigator” ready to fight your adversary on anything, and your firm takes a more passive approach to live to fight another day, then you are probably not going to have a good work experience.

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In the end, no one can tell you what style of litigator you are going to become. You may have more of a subdued personality so working at an aggressive litigation firm may not be for you. But always remember that no matter what style you have, there is a firm or company that will have the same litigation philosophy as you.

Peter S. Garnett is an attorney at Balestriere Fariello who represents clients in trials, arbitrations, and appeals. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation and contract disputes from pre-filing investigations to trial and appeals. You can reach Peter at peter.s.garnett@balestrierefariello.com.

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