Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | T | Trial

Pinning down the details: sweating the small stuff ahead of time can make a big difference in court. Even when the unexpected looms, smart planning and honesty (and perhaps a safety pin) will help you face it gracefully and get good results.

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

My first client is a long-haul trucker charged with going too fast. He has a bit of a record, so no plea is possible because if he pleaded guilty he'd lose his license--and his livelihood. I'm ready for trial with a good theory establishing why the officer was wrong about my client's speed. When we get to the courthouse, all I need is a short bathroom break before the case is called.

Although I'm well prepared for the trial, I'm totally unprepared for what happens next: My pants zipper fails in the down position, and no amount of tugging can make it close. Those extra pounds since law school make the problem all the more obvious. When my grandmother gave me that shiny new briefcase for graduation, I don't think she ever imagined the strategic use to which I am putting it as I make the rounds of the courthouse looking for help.

I move from office to office, learning that courthouse clerks are sympathetic to a young lawyer's plight--but they laugh, too. I also learn that it's very hard to staple a fly shut on a pair of pants. And worst of all, I learn that to staple a fly shut, you have to take your pants off, and when you put them back on, the staples pull out.

Ultimately, my partial savior is the clerk who has just had her jacket cleaned and has forgotten to remove the cleaning tag secured by a safety pin--"partial," because while one safety pin is an improvement, it makes the obvious problem only slightly less so.

When my case is called, I stand behind the lectern that, in my continuing bad luck, has just a single pillar holding up a platform on which I place my papers with one hand while holding Grandma's strategically placed briefcase with the other. I introduce myself and my client and announce we are ready for trial.

The judge seems puzzled. He calls the district attorney and me forward and asks me, "Why are you holding your briefcase in front of you?" The judge is amused as...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!