Your Enemy in the Courtroom: Step Away from the Podium

• Date: 01 April 2024

Published i n Litigation New s Volume 49, Numbe r 3, Spring 2024 . © 2024 by the Ameri can Bar Asso ciation. Rep roduced with pe rmission. A ll rights rese rved. This inf ormation or any p ortion there of

may not be copied o r disseminated i n any form or by any means o r stored in an elec tronic databas e or retrieval system w ithout the expres s written consen t of the American Ba r Association .

By Hon. Mark A. Drummond (Ret.), Litigation News Associate Editor

here is an enemy in every courtroom. No, it is not

opposing counsel or a witness on the other side.

No, it is not a temperamental judge. This enemy is

deceptive. At rst blush, the enemy appears to be your

friend. The enemy looks like it wants to help you.

The enemy is silent. The enemy comes in various shapes and

sizes, and is usually made of wood, sometimes metal, and, on

occasion, see-through plexiglass (the worst).

The enemy is the podium.

At rst, the podium seems helpful. It’s a place to put your

notes. It’s an anchor showing you where to stand. Perhaps it

even has a small shelf for a glass of water. But make no mis-

take. It is not your friend. It is not your friend because it inter-

feres with effective communication.

I have been training attorneys on effective persuasion since

1986. By rough estimate, I have trained more than 5,000

advocates. Not a training session goes by in which I don’t

say multiple times to multiple attorneys, “Don’t lean on the

podium,” “Don’t hide behind the podium,” and “Don’t grip

the podium.”

Your Enemy in the Courtroom:

Step Away from the Podium

I have seen young advocates hold on to the podium with

what can only be described as a “death grip.” Their knuckles

turned white as they desperately sought to burn off the adren-

aline coursing through their bodies. I have heard advocates

read great closing arguments delivered— not to the judge or

jury—but to their own notes, which they read word for word

from their legal pad perched on the podium in front of them.

What is the problem with using the podium, and what

is the solution? The problem is that standing behind a 500-

pound block of wood separates us from those we seek to

persuade. In a training exercise I conducted just a couple of

months ago, the podium was so massive that unless the advo-

cates were tall, you could only see a portion of their shoulders

and their head.

If the podium is plexiglass or simply a stand that allows

you to see the advocate’s lower torso, another problem is

revealed—the odd stances when lawyers lean on something for

support. You’ll see crossed legs, one foot in front of the other,

shaking knees, and sometimes poses that one might only see

in pictures of a ballet class at the barre. These stances do not

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