Lessons Learned from a Life on Trial

"I learned a great deal about trials from the lawyers that I worked with in the US Attorney's Office that summer, and from many mentors and experiences since. But perhaps the most important thing I learned, is that if one really wants to be a trial lawyer, it's just not something that can be learned from a book, or in a classroom. Certainly, those things can help, and I have been fortunate to teach trial practice courses at Harvard and elsewhere around the world. But true trial practice comes mostly from watching, listening, asking questions, practicing, and doing it-with all of the triumphs and tragedies that go along with trial work. Nowhere is the phrase "practicing law" more accurate than in trial work, where we spend a lifetime learning and practicing, on a journey without an endpoint"--