Some of our favorite trial lawyers have blogs about how to try cases. But, I rarely write about my study of the law or the amazing people I get to work with both at the law firm and through Trial Guides. But, I’m going to make an exception. Why? Gerry Spence called me.
What’s the big deal? Spence is considered the greatest lawyer of his generation. In the list of greatest trial lawyers of all time, he is at the top of a list including Clarence Darrow, Earl Rogers, Thurgood Marshall, and Moe Levine. He has never lost a criminal case either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney. He has not lost a civil case since 1969. He has had more multi-million dollar verdicts without an intervening loss than any lawyer in America. Wow! To give you an idea how impressive that is, as great as Darrow is often considered, his win loss record was about 50/50. Abraham Lincoln’s win-loss record was also 50/50 during his time as a trial lawyer, despite being considered one of the best trial lawyers in the country at the time. Even Earl Rogers, who is often considered the greatest criminal defense lawyer in history prior to Spence, lost three cases. Which makes Spence’s career of zero losses in criminal cases unmatched.
After a long list of victories in very difficult cases, Spence started Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming. The mission of Trial Lawyers College is to help lawyers who are committed to representing people and obtaining justice for the poor, the injured, the forgotten, and the voiceless. The college are a group of lawyers who are committed to caring for people regardless of their race, age, creed, religion, national origin, physical abilities, gender or sexual orientation. The result is that Spence has trained some of the best lawyers in the country about how to get justice for their clients. I learned most of my early trial methods from Spence’s multi-VHS series based on the TLC program.
I’ve been trying to work with Spence since 2004. So, what was he calling about in 2014? Working together on a new DVD featuring him called Be Who You Are for lawyers who struggle to be the best lawyer they can be for their clients. I’m happy to say that we are moving forward on the project and that it will be out soon at Trial Guides. In addition, we are working on a second video featuring Spence and our mutual friend, trial great Paul Luvera. Luvera has long been considered the greatest trial lawyer in the State of Washington and I was at both of the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame ceremonies when Spence and Luvera were inducted.
I’m thankful to be able to learn from these great trial lawyers and bring that knowledge to our clients.