How to Be a Better Trial Attorney

Dave Swanner at South Carolina Trial Law Blog has another great posting on How to Be a Better Trial Attorney. We previously linked to Dave's posting on Twelve Ways Technology Can Make You a Better Trial Lawyer, in which he discussed software, gadgets, web resources and the like. In "How to Be a Better Trial Attorney," he talks more about how you can learn to be a better trial lawyer — formal continuing legal education, from other attorneys, from your client and from yourself.

One of Dave's recommendations is that you visit your clients at home, so you can better understand how the injury has affected their lives. I would add a similar recommendation. If possible, visit the scene of the accident. If it was an auto accident, drive the routes your client's vehicle and any other vehicles traveled before the accident. Visiting the scene can help you understand the accident better, ask better follow-up questions of your clients and other witnesses, and present a better case to the jury. Of course, the scene may have changed since the accident, but once you visit you will have a better idea of whether changes have occurred and what further investigation you should do.