The Best Lawyers Seek and Obtain Training

Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever, had a trainer. The pound-for-pound best boxer, Canelo Alvarez, has a trainer. The greatest tennis player in a generation, Roger Federer, had a trainer.

Lawyers are no different. The practice of law is not intuitive, and most aspects of practicing law are not taught in law school.

If you are researching lawyers, ask them,

• What training do you have for depositions?

• What training do you have for negotiation?

• What training do you have for trial?

If they mention law school, you should ask follow-up questions, because you now know that they were not taught those things in law school, and if they are mentioning law school, that is a clue to you that they likely are not receiving ongoing training and coaching.

If they say they haven't had specific training or they watched someone else do it, you should explore other options. They are not serious lawyers.

If they say, "I attended deposition training at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. I attended trial advocacy training at the National Criminal Defense College or at the National Family Law Trial Institute or at Trial Lawyers College. I have negotiation and mediation training from Harvard's Negotiation Program and former FBI Negotiator Chris Voss," you know you are talking to someone who understands the need for training like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Tiger Woods understood it.

Our lawyers have attended multi-day, advanced advocacy training at the National Family Law Trial Institute, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Trial Lawyers University. At the end of each year, we list upcoming options for advanced education and plan out our group and individual training for the next year. Every year.