Trial preparation: the battle is won in the office before court

Many television shows portray litigating lawyers in court as smooth, silver tongued and dressed sharp. Of course those are nice qualities to have but the judge sees past the fluff and wants to know the law and the common law to back it up. For that reason, the best litigators will tell you that for every hour of cross examination, you need to set aside at least 4 hours to properly prepare for a trial. And so that is the life of any successful litigator: long nights, early mornings, and lots of preparation. My approach is to prepare over several days because you get to really

think about your approach. Also, depending on the case, I sometimes consult with senior counsel. There’s lots of online resources available but sometimes a 15 minute chat with another lawyer who did a similar charge can save you lots of time of setting you on the correct path of preparation. So next time you see a lawyer in court win a case without calling any evidence or see the Crown withdraw a charge without you lawyer saying except for, “I thank my friend”, then don’t think being a lawyer is easy - I bet that lawyer did a lot of long hours behind the scenes in his office to get that result.