Most of us have a fear of public speaking. In fact, one survey found that most Americans have placed fear of public speaking above all others including heights, bugs, snakes, and other animals, drowning, flying, clowns, and ghosts.[1] If you wish to bring a lawsuit or must defend a suit or prosecution, you will need a litigator that has practiced and honed the skills involved in public speaking. you will want an attorney who will unflinchingly stand up and speak on behalf of your cause whether popular or not, and difficult or simple.
Maryland has historically home to outstanding public advocates. Mistress Margaret Brent (circa 1600-70) was so adept at court advocacy (and so far ahead of her time) that the colonial governor of Maryland, Leonard Calvert, (and brother to the Proprietor Lord Baltimore) asked her to be his executor. Luther Martin (1745-1826) was Maryland’s attorney general for 28 years. In private practice, he successfully defended Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase in his impeachment trial of 1805. And in 1807, he helped successfully defend Aaron Burr at his treason trial. S.T. Wallis (1816-94) was an undisputed leader of the Baltimore bar, who, although imprisoned in Fort McHenry at the outbreak of the Civil War for his undeniable southern sympathies, was freed without condition to continue practicing law, and whose statue still stands in Baltimore City to the east of the Washington Monument.
What these excellent attorneys have in common is their skill in oral advocacy and their willingness to employ those skills in the face of difficult odds and powerful interests. While it is true that an attorney ought always to seek compromise so parties may save resources and time, the skilled advocate should not be cowed by the possibility of putting themselves to the test of courtroom advocacy.
All litigators may have to speak in court, but any judge or trial attorney can tell in just a few minutes which have practiced more or have a greater command of their subject. The more prepared the speaker is, the more she has practiced what she will say. The more she has command of the issues at hand, the more forceful her arguments will appear. It is the advocate’s job to get the judge or jury to perceive the facts and application of the law in their favor. Armchair orators who are quick to criticize the public figure for their seeming lack of public speaking skills abound. But anytime a person wings it, they are bound to stumble. The best attorney will already know what she plans to say.
Thus, when searching for the best trial representation, a practiced litigator is the way to go. The best lawyers should be able to make a complex case simple, or if it behooves the client, a simple issue complex. And the ability to do that, in the face of difficult odds and evidence, is effective public speaking. To take but one example from an actual case: the murder trial of football star O.J. Simpson was an 11-month long ordeal where the jury was presented with mountains of scientific evidence and months of testimony. Among the evidence was a bloody glove found at the scene. The defense counsel wisely tempted the prosecutors into asking O.J. to try it on. They did, he tried, he failed. The leather glove, blood soaked and thawed from a freezing evidence locker, was entirely too small. Then, weeks later during closing arguments, Johnny Cochran brilliantly distilled 11 months of trial to a jingle about the glove, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” And acquit they did.
If you have a case that is going to court, make sure you hire an attorney well versed in rhetoric, the art of persuasion, or you might find yourself on the losing end of a great advocate’s wit and elocution.
Anderson & Quinn, LLC is a law firm based in Rockville, Maryland, providing individuals, businesses, corporations, and healthcare institutions with the legal and litigation support they need to protect revenues.
