Foreward

In reflecting on why I came away with such a positive reaction from reading JurisPerfect’s information-packed handbook: Working With Your Lawyer, I was reminded of a wise old adage we trial lawyers love to quote when we want to sound clever and smart: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Those words provide a compact lesson in the wisdom of acting with caution and humility when you realize you’re in something over your head, way out of your element, or both.

Most clients who find themselves in a civil lawsuit are at the very least out of their element and thus uncomfortable from the outset because they don’t know exactly what they’re in for or what will be expected of them. Smart clients recognize that they don’t fully understand or appreciate all of the nuances of the litigation arena – what I like to call “Litigation World” – and so they become avid listeners and eager learners in order to develop an understanding of what they can do to help their lawyers achieve a favorable result. They approach the fray with intellectual curiosity and a strong sense of trust that their lawyers will teach them what they need to know in order to play their proper role in the unfolding legal drama. And there is indeed a lot to learn because Litigation World is so chock-full of quirks, eccentricities, arcane rules and weird practices.

You can greatly increase the likelihood of a good result, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, take the time to learn what you don’t know and immerse yourself in the process. This handbook will help guide you in exactly how to do that. The best clients quietly develop a thorough command of the subject matter, are comfortable with and conversant in the key documents, and have carefully considered – well in advance of any deposition, hearing or trial – exactly what they’re prepared to say when testifying, and how they plan to say it. JurisPerfect’s

Working With Your Lawyer can help you become exactly this kind of client and witness, and it will make your lawyer’s job in representing you immensely easier if you will absorb its wisdom and apply it in your case.

Everything that happens in modern litigation needs to be well thought out in advance, thoroughly planned between lawyer and client, carefully choreographed, and then executed only when all of the players are fully rehearsed. This takes a lot of time, effort and coordination. But when it comes time for you to actually perform as a witness at your deposition, hearing or trial, you’ll see how much doing the kind of thorough preparation taught in Working With Your Lawyer, can and will pay off, and you’ll be exceedingly glad you decided to take this invaluable little literary secret to heart.

Judson Graves, Esq.

• Trial Lawyer with Alston and Bird, LLP, for over 37 years.
• Named as one of the “Ten Top Trial Lawyers” in the country by the National Law Journal in 2000.
• Three of his verdicts included in the National Law Journal’s “top defense wins” in the country in 1998, 1999 and 2005.
• Named “Lawyer of the Year” in Georgia in 2009 in personal injury litigation.
• Owner of “Raffles,” an excellent English Springer Spaniel.