How I Ran a Homicide Trial Without Stressing

Most lawyers -- including myself for a really long time -- think being a lawyer is just stressful.

That there's no way to make it less stressful.

Maybe you could manage your time a bit better.

Maybe you could plan ahead a bit.

But no matter what, lawyering comes with anxiety.

Then I started doing trials without stress.

I was confused.

Why wasn't I as stressed out?

When I took a magnifying glass at what I started doing differently at that time versus when I'd been trying cases the first 10 years of my career, I had an epiphany!

There were 2 major things I was doing that I hadn't done before.

These 2 things govern the quality of our life and whether we're hitting our goals.

If you've been following me on Be a Better Lawyer Podcast or on LinkedIn for a bit, you probably know what they are:

1) mindset, and

2) actions

When I was struggling, I thought it was because I wasn't taking enough action. My mindset at the time was that I needed to work harder and later, and I wasn't doing enough.

It wasn't until I addressed this fundamental misunderstanding in my mindset that everything changed.

I can give you a laundry list of things to do differently (which I'll share below because I'm not going to cheat you ??), but it's not until the mindset is addressed that you'll even do it.

How do I know?

Because I didn't do what I knew I needed to do until I finally believed I was capable of change and doing something new would work.

If you want to learn more, at the bottom of this article, I'll tell you my latest Masterclass for Lawyers that will help you do just that.

Alright, so what did I do differently to make my homicide trial feel so much easier?

?? WORD OF WARNING ??

I want you to keep something in mind before you dive into this:

I devoted a lot of energy into intentionally designing my life years before I ran a trial smoothly.

Below I'm giving you the recipe, but it takes allowing yourself to fail and feel horrible at this for a while before you feel confident you can do it consistently.

Think about it:

If you want to become a vintner ?? but you've never made a bottle of wine before, you need to learn some things and set some things up before you can create a wine someone will pay $100 for.

Please don't beat yourself up when you're reading this and think, "I can't do that."

I didn't do it on the first go either.

It was trial and error setting things up in a way that worked for me.

Also, this is my schedule.

Your body may be different.

But the fundamentals I'm listing below will be the same for you if you want to create a better trial habit for yourself.

Here you go...

1) I made a calendar, and I practiced sticking to it over time.

This really paid off when it came time for trial.

I blocked trial prep time in advance, and that allowed me to be incredibly organized and feel confident around exhibits, etc.

While in trial, I got to the office early and gave myself time to review that day's questions, talked to witnesses, sent emails, etc.

I knew I'd be at my freshest in the morning, so I did it that way.

Then when I got into court, I was hitting my stride for the day.

2) It will seem counterintuitive, but I put myself on my calendar first.

I prioritized doing yoga daily and went to the grocery store for easy healthy meals -- most were already prepped.

During trial I left the office at 4pm, so I could get to my 4:30pm yoga class.

During lunch or dinner, I didn't have to think about food because it was done.

Then I made a point to be in bed at 8pm during trial.

3) The most important part: I managed my mind.

I didn't allow my brain to tell me, "I need to stay late."

Instead, I reminded myself that I'm going to yoga, and I will be in the office early tomorrow, so it'll be taken care of.

Instead of letting my brain worry about, "What if X happens?" I took a breath and refocused.

And I used to have dance parties in my office before trial to shake off any jitters. ???? (Let's keep it fun, right?)

4) I asked for help.

This wasn't easy for me early in my career.

To ask for help felt like I was a failure. But, because I did #3, I managed my mind and asked.

Your other cases don't suddenly disappear when you're in trial.

So I asked prosecutors to stand in, because I had a good relationship with the defense bar they kindly continued cases that were more complex and couldn't be handed off.

I planned this well in advance of my trial, so people knew what was coming. When I knew trial was a certainty, I started continuing cases past the trial dates.

Right now you may be reading this thinking, "OMG, there's just no way! I'm not that organized."

I wasn't either at first.

I had to start somewhere.

Pick ONE thing you can do differently -- like plan your grocery trip, so you don't have to think about food -- then go from there.

Your one thing might be my Masterclass happening this Friday.

In this Friday's Masterclass I'm take a deep dive into the 3 fundamental mindset shifts I needed to say good-bye to stressing over all the things in my law practice and hello to feeling more organized, confident, and that you can handle anything that comes your way.

Sound good to you?

It's called, "The Proven Path to Law Practice Peace," and it's happening this Friday at 8am Pacific / 11am Eastern.

There will be a 48 hour replay if you can't make it.

If you've never been to one of my Masterclasses, I highly encourage you to attend.

You're going to start seeing what's possible in your law practice in a whole new way.

YOU CAN REGISTER HERE FOR THE MASTERCLASS

If you have tips to running your trials more smoothly, I know that everyone reading this would love to know them.

Please add them in the comments.

And if you want to know more about making your #lawyerlife easier, feel free to ask questions, and I may write an article devoted to your topic.

Best of luck!

Dina