Law Office of Steven R. Young

My First Witness. I learned early that I want my first witness to be my strongest story teller. I want the story to come in smoothly so the jury sees that the evidence supports the story I told in opening statement. Early in my practice, an attorney “coached” me that my first witness should be the defendant. “Call the defendant first so you can cross-examine him when he is unprepared – you will obtain damaging testimony.” It sounded great in theory but failed in application. The defense knew “the trick” the plaintiffs were using and prepared their witness. Every question to the defendant was an opportunity to introduce the defense’s themes and arguments. Now, I do not call the defendant until the end when the evidence has fully developed what happened and what my client’s damages are. At that point, if the defendant evades, or better still, lies, the jury already knows the truth. The lies do not hurt me and the jury learns they cannot trust the defense for anything. If you need strategic or tactical help in your cases, I have been there many times. Call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness #strategy #tactics #loss #trial #initiative #selfstarter #witness

A Coming Legal Malpractice Trap in California. The California legislature amended Code of Civil Procedure § 437c (summary judgment statute) effective January 1, 2025. It creates a malpractice trap for the unwary if you don’t adhere to the new milestones. Notice:?the moving party must file 81days before the hearing. Opposition:?must be filed twenty days before the hearing. Reply: must be filed 11 days before the hearing. The new bill prohibits a party from filing more than one motion for summary judgment against an adverse party without leave of court and directly prohibits the introduction of new facts in a reply. Hope this is useful to you,

A Coming Legal Malpractice Trap in California. The California legislature amended Code of Civil Procedure § 437c (summary judgment statute) effective January 1, 2025. It creates a malpractice trap for the unwary if you don’t adhere to the new milestones. Notice:?the moving party must file 81days before the hearing. Opposition:?must be filed twenty days before the hearing. Reply: must be filed 11 days before the hearing. The new bill prohibits a party from filing more than one motion for summary judgment against an adverse party without leave of court and directly prohibits the introduction of new facts in a reply. Hope this is useful to you,

What is the Price of Great Legs? “Wow Steve. I would give anything to have legs that look like yours,” a friend says to me as I stop by my church to pick up my son. I am wearing running shoes and shorts with a long-sleeved shirt that is stiffening with the salt remains of drying sweat. It is Tuesday night, a particularly brutal training day as I was preparing in my mid thirties to run my first marathon. I have the good fortune to train with several very experienced older marathoners who have run many marathons in amazing times. They do not take me on leisurely runs. They train me hard. Each morning at 6:00 a.m., we meet at Steve Dibble’s home to begin our daily ten mile run returning seventy minutes later. Saturdays, they drag me anywhere from fifteen miles to twenty-seven miles. Tuesdays are a special training day. In the morning, we run our regular morning ten miles. In the evening, we meet at a college track for speed work which means timed intervals at near a sprint pace. Rolling out of bed Wednesday morning to run in the “same dark” we have run at the track, is especially daunting. I feel I can barely move, much less run. My legs scream, “Stay in bed you fool.” I always get up–Dibble will be waiting. On that Tuesday night, after track work out, I walk into the gymnasium at the church. Hearing the comment, I turn, and it is my friend Todd. “Your legs are impressive.” I respond, “Todd, you do not have to give that much. Come run with us. You will get the legs.” “Oh, I could never do that,” he responds, and the discussion about legs and wishes ends. I often think of that conversation and its powerful lesson for those who want to enter the killing pit we call trial. Many say, “I would give anything to get the results you get in trial.” “I would love to cross examine like you do.” “I want to build a firm like you have.” You have heard wishes like these, or maybe you have said them, or wished them. What price are you willing pay to obtain what you wish for? It is not a purchase. It cannot be a dream. It is a sacrifice and an investment in your desires. Will you pay the price of training for law, like a serious marathoner trains to race? That is the price. If you need strategic or tactical help in your cases, I have been there many times. Call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness #strategy #tactics #loss #trial #initiative #selfstarter

Self-Starting -- the Hallmark of a Trial Lawyer. If you fancy yourself a trial lawyer, understand your work is never finished–you can never believe you have done enough. There is always something that can be done that will help ensure victory. I learned this lesson indirectly in 1996 when I spent a month at Thunderhead Ranch with Gerry Spence. I observed his daily routine for thirty days. Before going to the ranch, I had no idea how hard America’s greatest trial attorney worked. Each morning at 6:30 a.m., he waited in the cook house for any of us who wanted to join him for a “morning walk.” That walk was an hour-long trek up what we called “Spence Mountain.” What many students did not know is that before Spence made his way to the cook house, he had spent several hours writing his books (he has published almost twenty books). He is tenacious in his dedication to his schedule, just as he was tenacious in his approach to trial. Self-motivation is the key to standing head and shoulders above those who want to be warriors but never make it. A trial lawyer’s personality description includes, “self-starter.” It is the spark of individual initiative that sets the trial lawyer apart from the scriveners. If you need strategic or tactical help in your cases, I have been there many times. Call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness #strategy #tactics #loss #trial #initiative #selfstarter

No One Will Win Every Trial Jacob Stein, an extraordinary trial lawyer in the D.C. Bar who obtained the only ‘not-guilty’ verdict for his client during the famous Watergate trials, once said, “Any lawyer who says he has never lost a trial, has either had only one trial, or is a liar.” No one can win every trial. Instead, we can only combine available information with our experience and historical knowledge to make the best decision for that moment. When you lose at trial, and you will, make it a learning experience. You will know not to repeat the mistake in the future.? If you fear failure, your life in court becomes a study in quiet desperation–you become one of those cautious attorneys who try to win by not losing. That is the greatest failure of all. If you need strategic or tactical help in your cases, I have been there many times. Call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness #strategy #tactics #loss #trial

nStrategy vs. Tactics Strategy is very simple. You should use strategy like a steamroller–makeup your mind on a course and direction of action, then stick to it. It takes very little imagination and skill to conceive a workable method of strategy. Tactics, on the other hand are different. Do NOT use tactics like a steamroller. Instead, seek for weaknesses in your opponent or his case, and apply the tactic to?exploit opportunities that develop in your cases. This was the rule in the Stone Age when used rocks as weapons. The rule is the same in our courtrooms we fill with technology. There is an ancient French saying, "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose,” (the more things change, the more they remain the same). Mankind has changed very little during our entire history. We are still frightened facing trial; we lose sleep, we work through lunch, we wear down, we mourn when we lose, we exult when we prevail. Technology is the only thing that changes. If you need strategic or tactical help in your cases, I have been there many times. Call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness #strategy #tactics

The Disease or the Symptom. A famous trial lawyer told me, “I do not invest in the market.” “Why not?” I asked. His answer stuck with me: “During trial, I cannot be worried about what is happening with my investments.” A trial lawyer’s focus, while in trial, is what is happening in the courtroom. The lawyer must see a juror’s passing reaction to a witness’ statement, or an opponent’s attempts to distract, or, heaven forbid, if the judge is sleeping. All these play a role in the dynamic of persuasion. Identifying a source of trouble, and addressing it, stops the source of the trouble in its tracks. However, the lawyer must know the difference between the disease and the symptoms. It does no good to “beat a snake with a stick,” when a quick cut to the snake’s head will end the threat. This ability to discern develops only with experience gained in the killing pit we call trial. If you need help making decisions concerning an upcoming trial, call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness

Do You Listen to Your Client’s Heart? Think about your last trial. Were you inspired to do things differently from what you always do? Most attorneys fall into a pattern and repeat that pattern in every trial. Ironically, these are the attorneys who complain that they feel like they are in rut. The attorney who accomplishes the most is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The “sure-thing boat” never gets far from the shore. Gerry Spence teaches that an attorney must stand naked and unafraid in front of the jury. We stretch and explore our capability. We try things no one has done before. That is the essence of greatness – adapting what you know to create something different. Talk to your client. Plumb the depths of his or her soul. When you have walked around in their skin for long enough, the inspiration will come, and you will ascend to greatness - if only in the eyes of your client. If you need help making decisions concerning an upcoming trial, call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #greatness

Information Is like an Egg. The fresher the better. Information allows you to determine what you know and what you do not know. It may not give the answers, but it make strategic decisions more likely. Should you cross a witness? Should you pass a witness? Should you present a rebuttal case, or waive rebuttal and move to closing argument? Information fuels all these decisions and makes you better in trial. If you need help making decisions concerning an upcoming trial, call me. I will be there for you. Juryattorney.com 714 673-6500 #GerrySpence #Juryattorney #trialattorney #thunderheadranch #thegunslinger #TLC #GSM #brainexpansion #personaldevelopment #superlawyer #decision #lastminutetriallawyer #jury #trial #greatness #privilege #truth #Patton