The Litigation Consulting Report

7 Habits of Great Trial Teams

Posted by Tony Klapper on Tue, Jan 3, 2017 @ 02:17 PM
by Tony Klapper
Managing Director, Litigation Consulting
A2L Consulting
Ken Lopez, the CEO of A2L Consulting, and I were talking the other day about some good
books to read for the holiday season. I suggested a current best-seller, Thomas
Friedman's Thank You for Being Late - strongly recommended to me by my dear friend and
mentor, Jim Hostetler. But Ken guided me to another book, a best-seller written 15 years
ago by Jim Collins, called Good to Great. It was a great read.
Although the book is principally a heavily researched analysis on what differentiates a great
company from just a good company, I believe that many of the same lessons that apply to
the Fortune 500 apply with equal force to law firms, litigation consulting companies, and
even trial teams. Borrowing heavily from Collins' conclusions, I offer the following New
Years thoughts on how good trial teams can be great trial teams:
1. Great trial teams have leaders who have the confidence to make important decisions
but also the humility to call attention to the team, not themselves.
2. Great trial teams are composed of the best and the brightest who, like their leader,
put the team first. They are not necessarily subject matter experts (though subject
matter expertise certainly doesnt hurt), but they are innovative thinkers who roll up
their sleeves and get to work.
3. Great trial teams dont simply follow the direction of their leader; instead, they
participate in the development of the trial strategy from the beginning -- through
open, sometimes animated, discussion and debate.
4. Great trial teams realize that presenting an effective narrative at trial is not

something that happens overnight, but rather requires repeated reassessment and
development. The process is iterative and not necessarily linear.
5. Great trial teams arent afraid of technology and think carefully about how they can
use it in the courtroom.
6. Great trial teams understand what makes them great as a team and as individuals.

They dont try to become something they are not.

7. Great trial teams think hard about the core of their case and develop themes,
theories and narratives that make the most sense of the law and the facts, fitting
round pegs only into round holes.
Are these statements true of your trial team?
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TRADUCCIN
1. Grandes equipos de litigios tienen lderes que tienen la confianza
necesaria para tomar decisiones importantes, pero tambin la humildad
de llamar la atencin del equipo, no ellos mismos.
2. Grandes equipos de litigios estn compuestos por los mejores y ms
brillantes, que al igual que su lder, ponen al equipo en primer lugar. No
son necesariamente expertos en la materia (aunque los conocimientos
de la materia no duelen ciertamente), pero son pensadores innovadores
que enrollan sus mangas y se ponen a trabajar.
3. Los grandes equipos de litigios no simplemente siguen la direccin de
su lder; en su lugar, participan en el desarrollo de la estrategia de
ensayo desde el principio a travs de discusiones y debates abiertos y a
veces animados.
4. Los grandes equipos de litigios se dan cuenta de que presentar una
narrativa eficaz en el juicio no es algo que suceda de la noche a la
maana, sino que requiere repetidas reevaluaciones y desarrollo. El
proceso es iterativo y no necesariamente lineal.
5. Los grandes equipos de litigios no tienen miedo de la tecnologa y
piensan cuidadosamente en cmo pueden usarla en la sala de
audiencias.
6. Grandes equipos de litigios entienden lo que los hace grandes como
un equipo y como individuos. No tratan de convertirse en algo que no
son.
7. Grandes equipos de litigios reflexionan sobre el ncleo de su caso y
desarrollan temas, teoras y narraciones que son ms coherentes con el
sentido de la ley y de los hechos, insertando pernos redondos slo en
agujeros redondos.