Jury trials are interesting beasts. No matter how right (or wrong) you are about the law or facts of a case, you still have to get 12 ordinary citizens to go along with you. That often incentivizes attorneys to go out of their way to seem “relatable” to juries. The only problem with that is a juror can spot a faker a mile away.
That was the blunt message from Senior District Judge Michael W. Mosman of the District of Oregon on a panel at the Utah State Bar IP Summit, as reported by Law360:
“If you grew up in a small town, or you grew up working class, or you grew up even middle class but in a working-class town, then some of that’s gonna stick with you the rest of your life,” he said. “But if it’s never been your experience, if you went to Harvard and liked it, then you will never connect with many jurors. You can’t.”
Lexis’ CounselLink+™: A One-Stop Shop To Streamline Your Law Department
Recent CounselLink upgrades integrate the full in-house workflow with the broader suite of LexisNexis products.
The message was echoed by moderator Tina Chappell, American Express vice president of IP litigation, licensing and policy. She recalled her reaction when, in town for a trial in the Eastern District of Texas, outside counsel got off the plane with a Harvard Law sweatshirt. “It was the first thing I told her after she got off the plane: ‘Take the sweatshirt off,'” Chappell said. “I don’t want you going around town with the Harvard Law sweatshirt on.”
That desperation to appear relatable can 100% backfire:
He recalled a lawyer from Portland, Oregon, trying to relate to jurors in Eastern Oregon, which he said is culturally more akin to Montana or Idaho. The lawyer referenced having a “second home in the woods.”
“Nobody in Eastern Oregon calls their second home in the woods their second home,” Judge Mosman said. “They just don’t. It’s their cabin. When you try to jump across that chasm, you cannot do it. And you’ll give yourself away.”
But just because you have different life experiences than the jury doesn’t mean all is lost. Mosman advises playing to your strengths:
Why Better Financial Acumen is the Key to Law Firm Success in 2025
From training to technology, uncover the essential steps to futureproof your law firm in a competitive market.
Instead, Judge Mosman said, the best attorney he’s ever seen navigate this gap didn’t bother trying to be charismatic and instead focused on bringing the jury through the complex case as best as the attorney could. After all, he said, jurors are often terrified of coming off as stupid, so helping them through can mean “You are their savior. They love you.”
“He was Virgil to their Dante, walking them through the seven circles of hell of your case to the sunlit uplands beyond,” the judge said. “When he was done, they went his way, and I’m not a hundred percent sure they knew anything other than what he had told them. It was enough.”
It’s a great reminder for trial attorneys — there are many ways to skin a cat and plenty of ways to reach a jury.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].