No one would have a doctor perform brain surgery who had never performed the procedure before. Yet, many clients go to trial with lawyers who have little or no trial experience. Often, clients simply assume their lawyers have trial experience and do not bother to ask. That is a mistake. As with everything else, lawyers get better at handling trials by having practice. Generally, the more trials a lawyer has, the better he or she will do trying your case. At trial, many split second decisions must be made. Should I object? What is the proper objection? Should I ask a particular question? Should I move to strike the answer? These decisions must be made in the blink of an eye or the opportunity is lost. Inexperienced lawyers are often confused by the speed of trial. But experienced lawyers act on instinct which is developed through a long history of trying cases. If you think your case is going to trial, make sure to ask your attorney how many trials he or she has taken to verdict. Otherwise, when the day of trial comes, you may find that your attorney is being run around in circles by a more experienced trial lawyer.
Gerald Klein, a trial attorney, has taken over 40 cases to verdict in jury trials and bench trials. Mr. Klein represents both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation and legal malpractice cases and was named in the 2020 Super Lawyers Top 50 Orange County list and the 2020 Super Lawyers Top 100 Southern California list. In 2017, Mr. Klein was inducted to the American College of Trial Lawyers, the most prestigious invitation-only fellowship of trial lawyers in the United States, acknowledging his excellent standard of trial advocacy, ethical conduct, integrity, and professionalism.