Many Legal Professionals Specialize, Holding Themselves Out as Attorneys, Lawyers, Trial Attorneys, or Litigators. Find Out Which You Need to Advocate for You in the Legal System.
When you have a health problem, you want to find a doctor specializing in treating your condition.
This idea applies when you have a legal problem. You want a trained and licensed professional who successfully resolves issues like yours, not an inexperienced person who will have to learn a new area of law at your expense.
But what legal professional do you need: an attorney, lawyer, trial attorney, or litigator?
When you hear the terms attorney or lawyer, many think of trial attorneys who argue in court, examine witnesses, and persuade juries because that is what you often see on TV or in movies. Attorneys like Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Caul Saul, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Perry Mason, Jackie Chiles in Seinfeld, Ally McBeal, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Cruise as Lt. Kaffee in A Few Good Men, and Denny Crane in Boston Legal have been main characters in shows and films with courtroom drama and comedy.
But the truth is that few lawyers are trial attorneys. Many lawyers graduate law school having never learned trial skills in the classroom or at work and avoid the courtroom and confrontation. Indeed, most modern legal education focuses on reading case law and spotting issues, not arguing or persuading others.
We will go a step further. Many attorneys need to learn where to start to become trial lawyers who effectively advocate for clients in courts of law. While amateur athletes can name the greats in their sports—Michael Jordan or Lebron James in basketball, Messi or Ronaldo in soccer, Tom Brady or Tyreek Hill in football, or Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky in swimming—few lawyers can name the great trial attorneys like Joe Jamail, Melvin Belli, or Richard Haynes.
This lack of trial experience is acceptable if you need help with an estate plan, will, real estate closing, or even a run-of-the-mill speeding ticket. But you need a trial lawyer who can protect your interests before a jury with skill if you suffered a significant injury, such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a spinal cord injury, or are involved in bet-the-company litigation. Without this threat, you may lose tens of thousands of dollars in settlement talks.
This article explains the similarities and differences between attorneys and lawyers and compares a trial lawyer to a litigator.
If you need a trial lawyer, call (804) 251-1620 or (757) 810-5614 or complete this form. Our attorneys handle all work accident and personal injury litigation phases and will stand with you at trial.
Some distinguish attorneys from lawyers, explaining that a lawyer is a person who has completed law school (has a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree) but has not obtained a license to practice law, while an attorney means a lawyer who has passed the bar, holds a law license, and can represent clients in court.
Indeed, other websites explain that lawyers draft (write) legal instruments and do not appear in court. For example, an immigration lawyer may help with citizenship issues, an estate lawyer may draft wills and trusts, or an intellectual property lawyer may help you obtain a patent, copyright, or trademark.
In contrast, attorneys represent plaintiffs and defendants in the courtroom.
However, the American public and legal profession interchange the terms attorney and lawyer.
For example, Virginia Code Section 54.1-3900 defines an attorney as someone who holds a license or certificate to practice law under Virginia’s laws and has paid the license tax. This statute says that “attorney” means “attorney-at-law.”
Similarly, the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia define an “attorney” as a member of the Virginia State Bar, a corporate counsel registrant, a foreign lawyer, a foreign legal consultant, or a member of another jurisdiction’s bar who appears pro hac vice while practicing law in Virginia.
And the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners issues a certificate to persons who pass the bar exam and earn a law license, which allows them to call themselves attorneys and counsellors at law.
However, the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct use “lawyer” throughout.
No matter the historical origin of each word or the formal definition, in the United States, attorney, attorney at law, and lawyer mean someone with a license to practice law.
At its core, an attorney’s job is to use their knowledge of how the legal system works (procedure) and what laws may apply to a given situation (substantive law) to investigate and discover facts and make arguments that help their clients obtain favorable outcomes.
Obtaining this goal may require the attorney to:
Although no official designation exists, many legal professionals who handle lawsuits distinguish trial attorneys from litigators. Attorneys know who amongst them will try cases and who would rather not.
As one judge said to attorneys in her courtroom:
“You need to be trial lawyers. A litigator drinks wine and takes depositions. A trial lawyer drinks whiskey and tries cases.”
This quote oversimplifies things because good personal injury lawyers need a litigator’s skills to obtain favorable evidence through discovery and try the case. And good trial lawyers know what discovery devices to use to gain leverage that leads to settlements. Alternatively, they can have a colleague whose strengths complement their skills work on the case.
Now, let’s delve into a detailed comparison between litigators and trial attorneys, two distinct skill sets in the legal profession.
Litigators aim to use pretrial disclosures, discovery (interrogatories, requests for admissions, document production, depositions, and subpoenas), and legal motions (such as a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment) to terminate a case or negotiate a personal injury settlement without trial.
Excellent writing abilities, patience, organization, the willingness to read thousands of pages of documents, and negotiation skills are critical for litigators.
In contrast to litigators, trial lawyers want their clients to have their day in court and confront the opponent whose wrongdoing caused harm so they can receive the largest jury verdict possible.
Generally, trial attorneys are more comfortable in court or fighting during arguments than litigators.
Trial lawyers must:
Trial attorneys are today’s storytellers.
Most litigants resolve their disputes through a settlement before trial.
So, you might ask yourself, “Why not hire a litigator instead of a trial attorney?”
Although that approach seems sensible initially, it could lower your settlement or increase the likelihood that a jury will decide your case.
Defendants, particularly insurance companies and claim administrators involved in thousands of lawsuits, know which lawyers are trial attorneys and which are litigators.
Your attorney’s willingness to go to trial and skill obtaining jury verdicts, or lack thereof, often affects the insurer’s settlement offers. So does a trial lawyer’s experience knowing what evidence persuades juries to award damages, which helps formulate a discovery plan. The insurance company will pay more to settle a case involving a trial attorney because it knows a large verdict is possible. In contrast, the insurer may lowball you if it thinks your attorney is a litigator scared of a trial who will recommend any settlement to avoid the courtroom.
Therefore, hiring a known litigator may put you in a situation where you must go to trial because the settlement offer is too low.
Instead, look for a trial attorney who has built a team of lawyers with litigation skills or has developed those skills themselves.
The best way to determine if you have a trial attorney is to ask your lawyer (1) how many hearings or trials they have handled and (2) what results they have obtained. A record of success, even through negotiated settlements, is a sign that insurers fear your attorney at trial.
Bringing a civil action is stressful.
Call us today to see if we are the right fit for your case. We are trial attorneys who get results.
If we do not handle your type of case or think someone else could better serve you, we will point you toward the right lawyer.