Over my years of exposure to the legal field, time and time again, I have come across brilliant legal minds that suffer from court-shyness and lack the relationships required to build a solo practice. It’s not that they lack in networking skills. They have enough rapport with senior lawyers and firms who appreciate them and their work. They are trusted for their research and opinions, but no one would ever trust them at trial. This happens to these unfortunate lawyers regardless of their capacity as an attorney. It happens simply because their skills like researching, drafting, and negotiating gain acclamation, much before their trial skills are at all tried or tested. Although some of them are content to bypass the courtroom, others are frustrated with their lack of live experience in court — a lack that makes them feel something less than a complete lawyer.
The problem begins with their lack of exposure to the open court from the beginning of their careers. While the inns of UK require the would-be barrister to give quite a large number of compulsory speeches in front of peers and dignitaries as part of the course, such practices are not found in our law schools. The most discerning law students here remain untested public speakers, and a lot of them dread their first tests at trial. Some actively pursue alternate careers, just to skip public speaking.
But the situation in Houston is an eye opener. The Houston municipal courts have a program running where the biggest law firms of the city send young lawyers as volunteers to prosecute on behalf of the city. Fulbright & Jaworski initiated the program in May 2005 following the success of a similar program started from the firm’s Dallas office for prosecuting minor misdemeanors in Plano. Since then, Baker Botts, Haynes & Boone, and Vinson & Elkins, have joined in the Houston program. These firms are sending out their young lawyers to earn live experience inside the court, and acquaint their faces to juries, judges, and defense attorneys. There is no doubt that this exercise in public relations and actual trial experience is going to help the lawyers out in the future. The firms have found a great way to help young lawyers develop their skills of presentation and learn to think on their feet.
I am not saying that it’s all that bad for those who rarely step inside a courtroom. But the quality of representation inside most courtrooms leaves much to be desired. Maybe programs like the one in Houston will benefit the people and the young practitioners in different ways, but I’m sure the quality of representation will increase inside the courts. That by itself is something to strive for. Needless to say, the experience the participants will gain is setting them up for a better career in the future.
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