Super Lawyers - Georgia 2016

18 SUPERLAWYERS.COM A T TORNEYS SELECTED TO SUPER LA WYERS WERE CHOSEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCESS ON PAGE 32. Q: What do you remember about your first case?

A: I had been practicing law two weeks.

I got a phone call from the clerk in the Middle District of Georgia, Macon office, advising me that Judge Wilbur Owens, who was the chief federal judge, had appointed me to a bank robbery trial. I thought I knew evidence and I thought I knew procedure, but I’d never tried a case before. The case didn’t turn out so well because the fellow did rob the bank and they had all the evidence they could possibly need. They threw me in the water and I didn’t drown. From there on, it was one case after the other, each building on the last one. And, ironically, Judge Owens [was the one who] appointed me to represent Walter Leroy Moody.

Q: If you could change one thing about
the criminal justice system, what would
it be?

A: It would be to bring in better-informed jurors. The longer I stay in this business, the more I realize how uninformed our jury pools are. They apparently don’t teach civics, or civic responsibility, in high schools anymore. In fact, I know they don’t. They try to cram a little bit of civics into a history course. But people come in so ill-informed about the role of a jury and why a jury is important. The result of that is that people who are entitled to a fair trial—or in a civil context, to an informed trial—don’t get either. That’s very disturbing to me.

There are a lot of associations doing all they can to educate jurors. I know in Athens, Georgia, my firm has often hosted the Citizens Court, or the Citizens Law School, which is free to the public.

Q: Any examples of ill-informed jurors in
your cases? Was this during voir dire and
you were able to remove them?
A: You try to educate during voir dire.

But in superior court and the state courts of Georgia it’s easier to educate people during voir dire than it is in federal court, where typically the judge does a voir dire, and it’s very limited, very fast, and you don’t really get a good sense of the jurors.

And they don’t really get a good sense of
why they’re there. I think that a good voir
dire is essential before you ask the jurors to
make decisions in a case.

What I’ve seen more recently is the phenomena of jurors simply being unable to make a decision. They don’t know enough about the system. They don’t have enough confidence in their abilities to handle a question or an issue.

You spend time trying a case and they
simply are unable to reach a decision.

A criminal case, sometimes, that’s a hallelujah moment. But it’s certainly not in a civil case, where you spend a lot of time and money getting a case ready and what you get out of it is a confused juror or juries and no decision, which is your worst nightmare.

Q: Did you have a mentor starting out?

A: I had three people that I thought gave me good advice. The first was a lawyer named Nick Chilivis, who was a very prominent lawyer in Athens; he has a law firm in Buckhead now. Occasionally he would slip in to watch me try a case, and when there would be a break he might make a suggestion to me, which I always found helpful. I did work in Atlanta with a lawyer named Joe Salem, who’s deceased, and I certainly learned a lot from him.

Finally, my own partner, Jay Cook, who’s
in his 70s now, tried a lot of cases with me
and made a lot of suggestions that helped
me along the way.
At some point, you have to establish
your own identity. I tell all young lawyers
that you can’t really copy somebody else’s
style, but you can learn from other people.
As you learn, you eventually develop your
own courtroom identity.
Q: Any pieces of advice they gave that
stand out?
A: They all had some of the same advice.
Number one, don’t let the judges rush
you when you’re trying a case. It’s your
case. It’s your shot at it. Take your time.
Present your case well.

Number two, it’s better to be a good
listener than a good talker. Either in trial
preparation or during the trial itself, pay
attention to what people are saying to
you. Really hear and understand what
they are saying.

Third, in the trial arena, the law is certainly important, but the facts are the most important thing in either a civil or criminal case. The facts are going to win your case or lose your case in most instances.

Those are, I think, the three biggest things that I learned. This advice was uniform and universal from these lawyers and other good lawyers I’ve known over the years.

Q: It’s interesting you mentioned Jay Cook, since we contacted him for suggestions for what to ask you. He thought we should ask you how many times you’ve been mistaken for Omar Sharif.

A: [Laughs] I will say this. I was mistaken
a lot more often in my younger days than I
am today.
Q: He also thought we should ask you
about your nonexistent golf game.

A: Well, I consider myself a good athlete but I struggle with golf. My son is an outstanding golfer. I don’t know where he got the gene from. And I took up golf simply so that I could spend time walking with my teenage son over many, many golf courses and many, many miles. I love the game for that reason and that reason alone. It’s not because I’m a good golfer.

I’m a terrible golfer.
Q: Anything you’d like to talk about that I
haven’t asked?

A: Not really. The trials I enjoy the most are where there’s a very good lawyer on the other side of the case, both of us are prepared and we do our best, and however it comes out is how it comes out.