Dealing with everyone other than clients you will encounter as a trial lawyer

• Author: Stewart Edelstein
• Pages: 29-48

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CHAPTER TWO

DEALING WITH

EVERYONE OTHER

THAN CLIENTS YOU

WILL ENCOUNTER AS A

TRIAL LAWYER

You play the starring role in the movie that is your career as a trial

lawyer, supported by a cast of characters ranging from your secretary

to the judges, who decide whether you win or lose motions, and—for

that matter—whether you wi n or lose nonjury cases. In t his chapter, we

explore how to deal with all of them, except cl ients, who merit their own

chapter. See chapter 1.

This movie analog y is not intended to suggest that you should be

play-acting in your role as a trial lawyer. No. You must at all times be

yourself, although you can develop dif ferent aspects of who you are as

you make your way professionally. Other movies are screen ing at the

same time throughout your life—movies of your life as friend, husband

or wife, parent, son or daughter, sibling, hobbyist, amateur athlete, and

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so on. If you abandon all those other roles, you wi ll burn out. See chap-

ter 13 about managing a balanced life.

So who are all these people in support ing roles, other than clients?

They are your secretar y, paralegals, witnesses ( lay and expert), col-

leagues in your fi rm (unless you are a sole practitioner), lawyers in other

firms you work with, opposing counsel, mediators, arbitrators, jurors,

and judges. Your relationship with each has unique benefits a nd pitfalls

for you.

1. YOUR SECRETARY

You and your secretary should be a dynamic duo, like Batman and

Robin—but without the costu mes—achieving your clients’ goals eff i-

ciently. Your relationship should be one of mutual respect and coop-

eration. Even though you are in a position of control vis-à-vis your

secretary, you must work as a team to get things done right, and on

time. Here are some tips:

• Establish a funct ional and efficient system for getting work done.

• Encourage you r secretary to suggest other ways to improve effi-

ciency, and take your secretar y’s worthy suggestions seriously.

• If your secretary works for more tha n one lawyer, establish a

mechanism to coordinate work f low. Do not wait for a crisis to deal

with this issue.

• If your secretary is ever overwhelmed by too much work that must

be done in too little time, have in place a mechanism for overf low

work to get done timely.

• Establish a calendar system for a belt-and-suspenders approach, to

avoid missing deadlines.

• Establish an electronic form ban k, to save time, for such docu-

ments as deposition notices, subpoenas, and boilerplate language

for settlement agreements.

• Be explicit in all assignments to your secretary to avoid misunder-

standings about what must be done, and by when.

• Be explicit about priority of assignments.

• W hen giving an assignment, explain briefly the pur pose and con-

text so your secretar y will have a clear understanding of the task

and motivation to achieve it.

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