The Power of the Lawyer-Client Relationship
Texas trial lawyer David Berg points out that getting to know your
client –and their key witnesses – is the place to start
in every case. It is the most effective way to build the trust and
cooperation critical to the relationship between a lawyer and a
client. Most important, Berg says, “juries don’t give
verdicts to people and companies they don’t like. If you don’t
like your client, the jury won’t either.” Why is it
so important for you to know your client personally?
1. The jury will pick up on your relationship
If your chemistry with a client is good, your chances of winning
will only be enhanced. The warm bond between the two of you and
the easy exchange of questions and answers during direct send a
powerful message to the jury.
2. You’ll learn something useful for trial
Sizing up the client means taking a detailed history of his life—not
just his involvement in the case. The same goes for key witnesses.
Get to know them in their own element, away from the firm. Spend
time with them at their office or plant. Go to dinner at their homes.
Meet their spouses and children. Take them to a ball game. Pick
up the phone just to stay in touch. Do anything but relegate them
to a case number and file. Invariably, you will learn something
that proves valuable at trial.
3. Corporations are people, too
The first step to humanizing any business is to unearth the corporate
culture – the ethics and practices, or lack of them, that
govern everyday life of the company. Frequently, what you will learn
will explain the transaction at the heart of the case. However,
you won’t find the answers reading company directives or policy
manuals. Corporate culture is about relationships: How does the
company treat its employees? What is the rate of turnover? Are the
employees proud of the products or services they provide? How do
the employees feel about their bosses? How do their bosses feel
about them? What kinds of business deals do the executives cut?
Most important: What does the corporation give back to the community?
After getting a good feel for the corporate culture, the next step
is to find out what is best about the men and women who work there,
the same information you need to humanize individual clients. The
answers to these questions will allow you to put human faces on
corporate logos.
4. Choose corporate representatives carefully
Because corporations represent a lot of things average people don’t
like, including indifference toward the suffering they sometimes
cause, picking the best corporate representative is crucial…If
she attends the trial faithfully, testifies well, and is likeable,
the verdict will reflect it. During deliberations, jurors will consider
the effect of their verdict on her instead of just a faceless corporation
with a $20-billion market cap.
5. Globalization and the neighborhood trial lawyer
Parties and witnesses increasingly include recent émigrés,
foreign (non-U.S.) corporations, and foreign nationals. Jurors,
too, represent a wide mix of recently naturalized citizens. That
makes representation and jury selection even more complex…For
jurors to be able to identify with a witness from another culture,
the witness must first be able to identify with the jurors, and
to understand their role.
If your client can’t afford a forensic psychologist or a trip
abroad, there are plenty of other ways to lean about other cultures
on your own…so get online or into the library.
Find out more about the book The
Trial Lawyer: What It Takes To Win.
The Trial Lawyer: What It Takes To Win is also available
in a DVD/Book
Package.
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