The Young Texas Lawyer

Apparently you aren’t supposed to talk like a lawyer anymore, not even in court. In the January issue of the ABA Journal, Jim McElhaney gives some pointers on a more effective way of questioning witnesses in trial (not that most of us will even get close to actually handling a witness at trial anytime soon).  His article is a little bit of a rehash of what those of us who took trial advocacy were probably taught, but nonetheless it’s an interesting concept and doesn’t only apply to trial work.

The energy you convey will often be reciprocated. If you’re polite while telling the waitress that she messed up your order then you’ll get a simple polite solution to your problem. If you’re rude when you call the court clerk to ask a question then you will likely get a rude response back and may end up making an enemy for life. Those that get what they want are usually the ones that can stay calm and cool even when the person on the other end is losing it.

Lose your cool once and you might end up with a nasty reputation that not only precedes you, but will make your life considerably more difficult when it comes to needing favors. Look at the person in your office that treats the secretaries and legal assistants the worst and you’ll often find them shocked that they aren’t getting any help from the very people they mistreat. The people you work with are just that, people you work WITH, not people who work FOR you. I’m not saying be a pushover, but there is a fine line between being a professional and being a professional jerk. So keep it calm, simple, and polite to get the results you desire. Be a professional.

While we’re on the topic, you should clean up your Facebook or MySpace pages. Reputation is everything, people will and do judge you.