Over the last two months, the lawyers in the CDT have been involved in, for the most part, at least one jury per week. This includes the last two weeks when 3 different multi-day jury trials in 3 different counties across the state have taken 6 different lawyers away from the office for as many as 10 days in a row.
Trial work is time-consuming and energy-zapping. A typical trial consists of 12-18 hour days, much of it in the courtroom at trial doing such things as conducting jury selection or cross-examining witnesses and making legal arguments followed by evening hours at the office or in a motel room readjusting trial strategy while preparing for the next day of trial. Mentally draining and physically exhaustive are two ways to describe trial work. While you are in trial, it is easy to forget that you still have a life at the office and at home.
For those attorneys that operate as solo practitioners, being involved in a multi-day trial can really put the office in a bind. New clients that need advice and want to hire a lawyer will not be able to have their questions answered and will hire a law firm that is more accessible while the lawyer is in trial. Of course, other emergencies pop up and deadlines inch closer and closer on other cases while a solo practitioner is in trial.
At The Criminal Defense Team, we have 10 lawyers who all work together as a cohesive unit. While our lawyers are in battle focusing on the task at hand, the other lawyers in the firm will step up and take care of business. At the CDT, we ALWAYS have two lawyers at trial. This leaves 8 behind to answer phone calls, attend hearings, assist on investigations and even assist our trial lawyers with legal research. . .among many other things.
Our ability to continue the day-to-day operations of the law firm while our lawyers are in trial is a huge benefit to our clients. We want our trial lawyers to solely focus on the trial when they are battling in the courtroom. Without our team concept, it would be nearly impossible for our lawyers to focus exclusively on the trial. At CDT, the attitude to the lawyers in trial is: “We got it covered. Don’t worry.” We have that attitude because we in fact do have it covered and, therefore, the lawyers in trial don’t have to worry.
The team concept utilized at CDT now for over 15 years since its founding has many, many benefits. One of the unheralded benefits is the ability to allow our attorneys to focus on their trial, rather than worrying about what is going on at the office.