Board-Certified Personal Injury Attorney
No matter what you do, staying sharp takes continually doing what you do! Best example in Houston recently was Texans football game vs the NE Patriots. The Texans quarterback, who everyone believes is going to have an exceptional career, did not look sharp. There is a good explanation for that, in my “expert” opinion… due to injury he hadn’t played in a game that mattered in almost a year. My guess is he will look better in the coming games after getting the rust off.
I go to court almost every day in Galveston, Brazoria, Harris and Chambers counties. The cases that I appear on are nearly all civil cases, including personal injury, subrogation, divorce, business collection cases and various accident cases. I have a level of comfort in the courtroom from daily “practice”. You pick up nuances of the judges, the clerks, the court coordinators and the attorney on the other side of the case. You learn when to stop talking! It is usually obvious when the judge has heard enough, and I see lawyers frequently miss the hints! Talking when the judge has heard enough is more likely to cause harm than good.
If I have an issue with my case, I tell the judge. The court will usually help in resolving the issue if you are upfront with the court. By doing what you should do with the court the judges appreciate that and even if it causes a momentary bump in the road on the present matter, it certainly helps my client in the long run.
It is obvious in dealing with lawyers on the other side of the case who appears in court frequently and who shows up here and there. Appearing in court on an almost daily basis provides experience and a comfort zone that you can’t get from sitting in an office.