Lessons Learned from Jury Duty

When my jury summons arrived in the mailbox, I decided that performing my civic duty could function as professional development for this legal-specific software trainer. The three previous times that I had served (one other time as foreperson), I viewed the experience with different eyes. After eight weeks of active, civil case jury duty, the time spent and lessons learned compel me to reflect on the experience and offer personal insight as it relates to law firm ethics and how a firm may benefit.

Pro Bono Community Support from a Different Angle

First, I encourage all law firm partners and attorneys to actively engage in conversations with their clients about whether or not they support jury service for their employees and attempt to convince clients to compensate employees who do serve. Personally, I was amazed at how many jury candidates asked to be excused due to expressed economic hardship. One can undoubtedly understand how self-employed consultants, like myself, do find that time spent away from client development, servicing, and contracts in motion is difficult to achieve. In my case, I was able to notify the court of current work assignments and ask for a specific alternate date to report, which the court granted without question. Are clients who are employers aware of this rescheduling ability? Planning for an absence from work allowed me the opportunity to convey my lack of availability to my clients, and they applauded my community focus. Perhaps it is the market segment that is my client base that evoked this rich response, but one would hope that all citizens share these views. During voir dire, one (unselected) juror candidate eloquently stated, when asked about his feelings regarding jury service: 'If I ever expect to get a fair shake on that side of the table [pointing], I should expect to do my time in this jury box.'

It is no secret that the pool of available jurors has diminished and largely represents state, federal, and county workers, as well as educators, the unemployed, and the retired. Increasingly, judges are challenging claims of unavailability of potential jurors, However, judges do allow some 'unavailable' jurors to be excused and attorneys excuse expressive jurors during peremptory challenges. Firms have an opportunity to change that candidate demographic, thus giving a firm's clients the benefit of a truly diverse juror pool.

If a law firm has a true commitment to community, engaging clients in this dialog benefits the legal system, enriches employees and citizens, and dispels many of the myths inaccurately depicted in popular media. Eight weeks is an unusual commitment in most cases; however, these practical lessons have proven invaluable to me. When polled, significant numbers of jurors admit to having had a positive learning experience after completing their jury service.

Revisiting Simple 'Soft Skill' Concepts

Secondly, as elementary as it may seem, the importance of etiquette, decorum, and body language can escape trial lawyers deep in the throes of presenting a case. From this particular experience, I observed seasoned attorneys semi-reclined with knees on table edge while their clients were cross-examined. Heavy sighs, repeated eyeglass cleansing, side comments to team members (complete with smirks), barging ahead of female attorneys from their own table when leaving the room for sidebars, not holding doors, etc. all leave indelible impressions on jurors. While admonished by the judge from discussing the case facts or expressing evidence opinions, it did not stop several of the jurors on our panel from mumbling comments regarding the need for an 'attorney charm school' during out-of-courtroom time.

Litigators are not the only offenders here. The same perceptions can be derived by clients and other interested parties while sitting in face-to-face negotiations, family agency meetings, or at conference tables during video presentations. Offering firm workshops, video playback of practice sessions, or requiring refresher methods (Web-based articles) on the importance and expectations of the court or client interactions, can enhance not only the firm's image, but also can affect the bottom line as it relates to jury awards and collected legal fees. See www.txethics.org/TCLEPCOURSE2005/R-ch-3-I.pdf for a good online article.

Apologies and Thanks to the Court

Perhaps it can be explained by the plaintiff attorney telling the judge before session why their second chair counsel had changed, which gave the judge an opportunity to explain the switch to the jury; perhaps it is because when the defense attorney did the same, the judge had to ask who was the new person at the defense table; perhaps it is because the plaintiff attorney always asked permission of the judge, and the defense attorney, in haste to make a critical point, was asked several times by the judge to share before proceeding; or perhaps it was because the body language of the sitting jury was finally noticed by the defense attorney, that the defense's first one-third of closing arguments offered an emphatic apology for anything that the defense attorney had done to 'offend or insult' members of the jury. Was this elongated apology in the client's best interests? Did explaining to the jury why a defense attorney's job was to be a 'bad guy' help their case? Was the jury to forget defense's [objected to] snide comments during witness testimony? Did a respectful, poignant, and smiling plaintiff attorney sway the jury deliberations? When appropriate, did being minimally self-deprecating show an attorney's personable side? Did the plaintiff attorney offer thanks for jury service before giving closing arguments to soften us up? Or did the fact that the defense attorney thanked us for our service after giving closing arguments convince us that the sentiment of gratitude was an afterthought?

Aside from performing the necessary investigation (or not) regarding an individual judge's preferences, reputation, or expected standards, one can only presume how all of these events have disseminated publicly about the capabilities of each of these law firms. One may also infer how this series of case events has affected their bottom lines.

Teach Your Attorneys Well

Lastly, the brightest minds from the top law schools do not all have the same social skills. Poise, confidence, and nonverbal expression are acquired skills that continuously change in polite society. The same is true in client and courtroom interactions. 'The Win' or 'The Best Deal' may be the ultimate goal in legal proceedings, but the impressions that come afterwards are equally as important; no matter how high-profile the case, or how valuable the deal, ignorant acts or insensitivities can lead to malpractice, ethics claims, or lost legal fees.

How well positioned is your firm to encourage attorneys to 'brush-up' on soft skills? Is a managing or senior partner willing to help set an example? Are there etiquette resources in your community? Is pretrial judicial research part of your litigation strategy? Do members of your firm make the most of inner circle 'Who Knows Who' for personality insights?

Attorney mentoring should be about more than strategy, time management, or researching precedents. An attorney who is considered to be genteel does not necessarily lose his or her winning edge. To the contrary, he or she succeeds with class, style, and with an enhanced reputation in the community. Consequently, the firm wins as well. The payoff is yours to determine.

Predictably, several of my fellow jurors expressed: 'I know who I'm going to call if I ever need a good attorney.' I am confident that they will spread those sentiments to members of their immediate professional and personal community as well. No matter the firm size, this kind of publicity is irreplaceable. Publicity with opposing views takes years to overcome.

Paula Campbell is a partner from NPD Computer Concepts, Inc., a firm specializing in legal-specific software technical training. She has spent more than 15 years observing the diverse cultural, economic, and personnel aspects of law firms. She can be reached at [email protected].

When my jury summons arrived in the mailbox, I decided that performing my civic duty could function as professional development for this legal-specific software trainer. The three previous times that I had served (one other time as foreperson), I viewed the experience with different eyes. After eight weeks of active, civil case jury duty, the time spent and lessons learned compel me to reflect on the experience and offer personal insight as it relates to law firm ethics and how a firm may benefit.

Pro Bono Community Support from a Different Angle

First, I encourage all law firm partners and attorneys to actively engage in conversations with their clients about whether or not they support jury service for their employees and attempt to convince clients to compensate employees who do serve. Personally, I was amazed at how many jury candidates asked to be excused due to expressed economic hardship. One can undoubtedly understand how self-employed consultants, like myself, do find that time spent away from client development, servicing, and contracts in motion is difficult to achieve. In my case, I was able to notify the court of current work assignments and ask for a specific alternate date to report, which the court granted without question. Are clients who are employers aware of this rescheduling ability? Planning for an absence from work allowed me the opportunity to convey my lack of availability to my clients, and they applauded my community focus. Perhaps it is the market segment that is my client base that evoked this rich response, but one would hope that all citizens share these views. During voir dire, one (unselected) juror candidate eloquently stated, when asked about his feelings regarding jury service: 'If I ever expect to get a fair shake on that side of the table [pointing], I should expect to do my time in this jury box.'

It is no secret that the pool of available jurors has diminished and largely represents state, federal, and county workers, as well as educators, the unemployed, and the retired. Increasingly, judges are challenging claims of unavailability of potential jurors, However, judges do allow some 'unavailable' jurors to be excused and attorneys excuse expressive jurors during peremptory challenges. Firms have an opportunity to change that candidate demographic, thus giving a firm's clients the benefit of a truly diverse juror pool.

If a law firm has a true commitment to community, engaging clients in this dialog benefits the legal system, enriches employees and citizens, and dispels many of the myths inaccurately depicted in popular media. Eight weeks is an unusual commitment in most cases; however, these practical lessons have proven invaluable to me. When polled, significant numbers of jurors admit to having had a positive learning experience after completing their jury service.

Revisiting Simple 'Soft Skill' Concepts

Secondly, as elementary as it may seem, the importance of etiquette, decorum, and body language can escape trial lawyers deep in the throes of presenting a case. From this particular experience, I observed seasoned attorneys semi-reclined with knees on table edge while their clients were cross-examined. Heavy sighs, repeated eyeglass cleansing, side comments to team members (complete with smirks), barging ahead of female attorneys from their own table when leaving the room for sidebars, not holding doors, etc. all leave indelible impressions on jurors. While admonished by the judge from discussing the case facts or expressing evidence opinions, it did not stop several of the jurors on our panel from mumbling comments regarding the need for an 'attorney charm school' during out-of-courtroom time.

Litigators are not the only offenders here. The same perceptions can be derived by clients and other interested parties while sitting in face-to-face negotiations, family agency meetings, or at conference tables during video presentations. Offering firm workshops, video playback of practice sessions, or requiring refresher methods (Web-based articles) on the importance and expectations of the court or client interactions, can enhance not only the firm's image, but also can affect the bottom line as it relates to jury awards and collected legal fees. See www.txethics.org/TCLEPCOURSE2005/R-ch-3-I.pdf for a good online article.

Apologies and Thanks to the Court

Perhaps it can be explained by the plaintiff attorney telling the judge before session why their second chair counsel had changed, which gave the judge an opportunity to explain the switch to the jury; perhaps it is because when the defense attorney did the same, the judge had to ask who was the new person at the defense table; perhaps it is because the plaintiff attorney always asked permission of the judge, and the defense attorney, in haste to make a critical point, was asked several times by the judge to share before proceeding; or perhaps it was because the body language of the sitting jury was finally noticed by the defense attorney, that the defense's first one-third of closing arguments offered an emphatic apology for anything that the defense attorney had done to 'offend or insult' members of the jury. Was this elongated apology in the client's best interests? Did explaining to the jury why a defense attorney's job was to be a 'bad guy' help their case? Was the jury to forget defense's [objected to] snide comments during witness testimony? Did a respectful, poignant, and smiling plaintiff attorney sway the jury deliberations? When appropriate, did being minimally self-deprecating show an attorney's personable side? Did the plaintiff attorney offer thanks for jury service before giving closing arguments to soften us up? Or did the fact that the defense attorney thanked us for our service after giving closing arguments convince us that the sentiment of gratitude was an afterthought?

Aside from performing the necessary investigation (or not) regarding an individual judge's preferences, reputation, or expected standards, one can only presume how all of these events have disseminated publicly about the capabilities of each of these law firms. One may also infer how this series of case events has affected their bottom lines.

Teach Your Attorneys Well

Lastly, the brightest minds from the top law schools do not all have the same social skills. Poise, confidence, and nonverbal expression are acquired skills that continuously change in polite society. The same is true in client and courtroom interactions. 'The Win' or 'The Best Deal' may be the ultimate goal in legal proceedings, but the impressions that come afterwards are equally as important; no matter how high-profile the case, or how valuable the deal, ignorant acts or insensitivities can lead to malpractice, ethics claims, or lost legal fees.

How well positioned is your firm to encourage attorneys to 'brush-up' on soft skills? Is a managing or senior partner willing to help set an example? Are there etiquette resources in your community? Is pretrial judicial research part of your litigation strategy? Do members of your firm make the most of inner circle 'Who Knows Who' for personality insights?

Attorney mentoring should be about more than strategy, time management, or researching precedents. An attorney who is considered to be genteel does not necessarily lose his or her winning edge. To the contrary, he or she succeeds with class, style, and with an enhanced reputation in the community. Consequently, the firm wins as well. The payoff is yours to determine.

Predictably, several of my fellow jurors expressed: 'I know who I'm going to call if I ever need a good attorney.' I am confident that they will spread those sentiments to members of their immediate professional and personal community as well. No matter the firm size, this kind of publicity is irreplaceable. Publicity with opposing views takes years to overcome.

Paula Campbell is a partner from NPD Computer Concepts, Inc., a firm specializing in legal-specific software technical training. She has spent more than 15 years observing the diverse cultural, economic, and personnel aspects of law firms. She can be reached at [email protected].