Round Up the Usual Suspects: Traditional Methods of Selecting First-Chair Trial Counsel Exclude Women

A product liability trial is a war. It is a long war ' years of skirmishes that culminate in a battle of epic proportions. You slog through discovery, motions to compel, depositions, and expert discovery to arrive at 'ready for trial' status. Then you have to distill all that has happened during this exchange and prepare a case strategy and a story of why your client should prevail. You have many weapons with which to do this: experts; your client; and your skills as a communicator, tactician, and performer. During this battle, however, not only do you have to worry about your own performance, but you also have to manage your team and keep each member's morale up at the same time that you maximize his or her capacity for and contribution to the fight. You have to develop and control the message that your team receives and conveys. You have to unite your entire arsenal so that it all comes together at just the right moment to ensure the highest quality communication of your vision, which only you truly understand. You need stamina because the hours are long and the stakes are highest when you are most stretched. You live off adrenaline and desire and competition and fear. The other side, however, has the same weapons. It is a war that is not for the faint of heart; it is not for the weak; and it is not for the ill prepared.