Two Weeks, Two Trials

That is the truth and I am tired.

For the record, both were losses for my clients. Overall, that leaves my record at 1 - 3. If this were baseball, you could break down my record in a couple of ways. Such as:

Number of jury trials: 2

Number of bench trials: 2

Number of jury trials where the client testified: 1

Number of bench trials where the client testified: 1

Number of witnesses cross-examined: 6

Number of juries picked: 2

Number of times effective voir dire questions were
asked: 1

Number of sidebars: 4

Number of sidebars per jury trial: 2

Number of jury questions: 3

Number of jury trials where the client showed up: 1

Number of trials where the client did not show up: 2

Number of trials where the client could have shown
up, but chose not to show up: 1

Number of trials where the client could not have
shown up: 1

Number of cases that settled after being sent out
to a trial department: 21 (I think, this is an estimate)

Number of cases dismissed by opposition after being
sent out to trial department: 3

Number of cases I think clients accepted bad deals
on rather than continuing through after being sent
to a trial department: 3

Number of voir dire sessions where I wanted to
strangle people for believing that the right to trial
is an antiquated notion: 1


I will put up more about the two trials in the next few days (really!). The short version is that both cases were unlawful detainer matters which I inherited at the last minute because the clients were unrepresented going into the day of trial after they received help from various pro bono groups in the area. Needless to say, with little in the way of discovery.

Discovery is a crutch anyways. (Alright, maybe thats just a little bit of rationalization there).

Lessons were learned. Skills were gained.

But the bottom line is this: losing still sucks.