Trials Of A Lawyer

You can deliver the perfect closing argument -- and still lose the jury.

Not because your facts were wrong. Not because your understanding of the law was off. But because you missed the signals hiding in plain sight.

In this episode of Trials of a Lawyer, Bob and Lauren Byrne continue their series for lawyers with one of the most underrated soft skills of all: reading the room.

Building on last episode's deep dive into active liste...

Trial lawyers are trained to talk. To argue. To persuade.

But what about listening? 

In this first episode about soft skills lawyers need, Bob and Lauren Byrne get honest about a skill that seems obvious, but is rarely practiced well in the legal profession. Active listening isn't just about being polite or having good bedside manners. It is a tool that changes outcomes for your clients, especially in the courtroom.

This episode di...

We love being trial lawyers.

And there are many reasons for that.

In this episode, we'll discuss some of those reasons.

And we illustrate these reasons with a story that pretty much sums it all up.

For more information about Lauren Byrne:

https://martinwrenlaw.com/about/attorneys/lauren-m-byrne/

For more information about Bob Byrne:

https://martinwrenlaw.com/about/attorneys/robert-byrne/

Charlottesville VA Office of MartinWren,...

So you are starting your new firm or perhaps you are growing. You need help, and you are having a hard time finding someone you can trust.

You start to wonder if maybe your spouse might be able to help. Or maybe it is a sibling, parent, child, or best friend.

Is that a good idea? Like most questions in the law, it depends.

There are a number of things you want to consider before you make that plunge. 

Do you have the same skill set...

On the last full business day of 2024, we take a look back on our past year.

Maybe you've played the game Rose, Bud, Thorn. Well, that's our format for today.

We've had some really good things happen in 2024. For one, we were able to help our clients get some sense of justice. Bob received his board certification in Truck Accident Law from the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

We also a thorn of sorts -- we did not get a chance to ...

Some trial attorneys will discuss the concept of fear, that gripping emotion that can cause us to doubt just about everything that we are doing.

Oftentimes, those discussions of fear are general in nature but are not really identified.  That makes fear this boogey man that is lurking but mysterious, never really able to be mastered.

In this episode, we do a deep dive into the various types of fears that trial lawyers face. We ident...

There is an old African proverb that says, "if you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together."

Trying cases to juries is done best when you use a team approach.

In this episode, we'll talk about some of the hazards of solo trial work.  Sure, you can do a jury trial by yourself.  You can handle every phase of the trial, from jury selection to opening, direct exams, to crosses, jury instructions to motions to str...

Young or aspiring trial lawyers will most likely have to cut their proverbial teeth on small cases that seem really inconsequential.

The cases seem small.  Dull. A waste of time. 

These cases are not only ones on which you will not make any money, they are likely cases in which you will LOSE money.

But as we discuss on this episode of the podcast, those cases might be some of the most important ones you will handle in your career.

...

It seems like everyone in the legal profession talks about "work-life balance."

We have been wrongfully accused of having an optimal work-life balance.  The reality is that our balancing act is more like children on a teeter-totter or seesaw, where true balance is fleeting.  Instead, you are just bouncing from one extreme to another.

That's certainly been the case with us.  Last year ended up being way too much work.  This year, ho...

Bringing a personal injury claim is not easy.  It will be inconvenient for a plaintiff at best, downright miserable in the worst case scenario.

Given that personal injury cases can be so difficult and unpleasant, it is a worthwhile and meaningful question for someone to ask: "What is my personal injury case worth?"

In this episode we'll look at five ways we determine the value of a case. We can get a pretty good idea from these met...

Abraham Lincoln once said that if he had 6 hours to cut down a tree, he'd spend 4 hours sharpening the axe.

Trial lawyers are all too familiar with this concept.  Not only must we keep our axe sharp for the work we do, there are several axes that we must have at our disposal.  And each of them must be constantly sharpened.

In this episode, we will talk about three particular areas -- or axes -- that trial lawyers must keep sharp.

T...

Trial lawyers love to talk about their wins.  Their big verdicts, their huge settlements.

Do they start their careers out hitting homerun after homerun?  Maybe some do.

But that is not our story.  In this episode we talk about the first two trials we did as a team.

They were utter disasters.

We should have known from the time we set the cases for trial that we were in trouble.  Though the cases were set more than half a year in adv...

In this episode, we dive into the topic of mediation.  It is a pretty popular way to resolve cases, and when it goes well, it can go really well.

But that does not mean that mediation is appropriate for every case. To be sure, some cases should not be mediated for various reasons that we will discuss.

Some cases, on the other hand, are great for mediation.  Maybe the client has unreasonable expectations or the defense is not proper...

Truck crash cases are not like car crash cases.  That's stated frequently in the legal industry, but it is not always known all of the ways that this is true.

Any attorney who represents injured parties in truck crash cases needs to be aware of the many nuances that exist with truck crash cases.  There are not only obvious size differences between trucks and cars, but there are different operating characteristics with trucks and ca...

Lauren was recently approached by a friend's daughter who is contemplating going to law school. It got her thinking: why did we go to law school?  What should people know if they are thinking about attending law school?  What do we think about any of our five kids attending law school?

In this episode we talk about what drew us to law school.  Maybe it was "Covid" in high school. Perhaps it was the Golden Arches. Tune in to know wh...

In this episode of the podcast, Bob and Lauren dig into a topic that is prevalent in litigation and trial but not often discussed.  And that is psychological warfare.

If you are a litigator, you know what it is. You start out in your case with all the enthusiasm in the world.  You think the opposition will see the strength and merits of your case and then instantly cave and give you everything you want.

Not only does the opposition...

We are Bob and Lauren Byrne, civil trial attorneys in Virginia who represent clients in catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases.  We try many of these cases to juries together.

But we are also married with five kids at home. So there is never a dull moment in our house!

This episode of the podcast is our introduction: we introduce ourselves and then talk about what we are going to talk about.

Lots of people seem doubt...