legal sanity

According to this recent article, a decline in jury trials “to less than 2 percent of all cases filed” has beget a notable gap in the skill set of law firm associates. To bridge this gap, firms are looking for “new ways to give their younger attorneys vital courtroom experience” so they’ll be able to “convincingly bluff their opponents into believing a trial is imminent,” adeptly present motions before a judge and ably handle the pressures of a jury trial should the rare opportunity arise. Some firms hire private consultants to take their associates through mock courtroom scenarios. Others encourage pro bono trial work or try to recruit seasoned lawyers from U.S. Attorneys’ or district attorneys’ offices. This pretty much covers the issue from the firms’ perspective. When I was at a big firm, I witnessed how the reality of dwindling trial work impacted young associates looking to cut their litigator teeth. A number left for coveted positions with the U.S. Attorney or boutique operations. As for me, although I worked in my firm’s litigation department, I never had a burning desire to be on the courtroom front line. I also felt, and still believe, that a lot of the skills lawyers use in litigating matters before juries are identical to those we employ in consulting with clients about legal issues and in endeavoring to settle matters pre-trial through negotiation or modes of alternate dispute resolution.