There is nothing more daunting in the practice of law than attempting to try your first case. Most lawyers either don't try cases, are scared to try cases, or have tried and failed. Some people have been a victim of all three. However, with the right amount of preparation, knowledge and understanding, you can take a lot of the scare, terror and fear out of trying your first case.

Facing the Unknown 

Any good personal injury lawyer can take the unknowns out of the trial component. However, the part that some forget or fail to prepare for is obvious when they walk into the courtroom and don't understand specifically what to do. Judges have their pet peeves, and the last thing that any lawyer wants is to start out embarrassing himself or herself to the judge or the jury. Possible scenarios to avoid include:

• Failing to stand in the right place.
• Submitting an exhibit incorrectly.
• Asking a question out of turn.
• Not understanding that the judge does/doesn't allow backstriking when taking a turn.

Being Nervous Is Normal

According to the American Bar Association National Lawyer Population Survey, there were over 1.35 million active lawyers in the United States in 2019. If you're one of those attorneys, I can assure you that you aren't the only lawyer to encounter fear leading up to your first case. For someone like myself who has OCD, the uncertainty of not knowing where to sit, what courtroom decorum to borrow, and how the judge did a variety of different things made this an intimidating task. Fortunately, I found a book called "The First Trial (Where Do I Sit? What Do I Say?) in a Nutshell," by Steven H. Goldberg and Tracy Walters McCormack. It was helpful because it reminded me that there were other people like myself who were beginning to try cases that had the same fears.

My First Trial (I Survived and You Will Too)

My first trial occurred when I was a third-year lawyer. It was a small judge trial, and although I had been in a courtroom on a number of different cases for various hearings, it was still a new territory for me. The most daunting aspect was not really understanding the appropriate protocol. Protocol deals with virtually everything they can't teach in law school and don't teach you during the practice of law either. At the time, I felt like I had a great deal of anxiety over not really understanding what I needed to do and where I needed to do it, unlike the legal aspects, of which I was much more confident.

Preparing for Your First Case

• Watch your judge handle another trial.

The best advice I can give a personal injury lawyer ready to try their first case is to sit in the judge's courtroom and watch them handle a different trial. Doing this helps you know where to sit, where to ask questions from, how the judge wants to handle any sidebar conferences, and it allows you to better understand the judge who handles your client's trial.

• Do not be afraid to ask questions.

It's important to ask other lawyers for insights as well, whether it's specific to your judge or as general as how to try a case. A personal injury lawyer can look up most answers relative to the legal aspects of a trial, but can't get some of these answers without doing a little due diligence.

• Put together a checklist.

One thing that I have learned over the course of time is that it's a good idea to prepare a checklist for everything. I now have a set formula for how to address different themes with judges during pretrial conferences.

• Conferences are key.

If you don't have a pretrial conference for your case, my suggestion is that you request one and/or set a telephone status conference where you can ask the judge questions prior to trial so that you don't conduct an ex parte communication without the other side present.

• Etiquette, decorum and more.

Always remember that the judge's clerk is an excellent resource for anything regarding courtroom etiquette and decorum, and the judge's do's and don'ts. Many judges also have their own set of local rules, particularly in federal court. Those are always great resources as well.

• Each judge is different.

The most important thing you can do is try to learn about your judge and their preferences, whether it's with regard to admitting evidence or courtroom etiquette and decorum. You can't rely on a practice from a different judge to carry over to the judge you're in front of now, which makes soliciting information from the judge's clerk all that more important.

• Check out the courtroom beforehand.

At a minimum, I always go to the area where I'm trying a case a week in advance to ensure that I can get into the judge's courtroom, understand what type of technology they use and where it's set up, how to present exhibits and the way the judge runs their courtroom.

Cover All Your Bases, and You Will Do Fine

In conclusion, ask your questions, speak to the court, talk to other personal injury lawyers, and look for any rules that you can find. Just remember, practice makes perfect, and the best thing you can do is always watch the court in session before your trial.

Patrick Daniel is the founder and principal of Patrick Daniel Law based in Houston. Visit www.PatrickDanielLaw.com.