Will Thomas, partner and litigator with McDowell Hetherington in Houston, is our guest on today's show! Will talks about COVID's impact on trial work, being your case's own toughest critic, and demonstrating grit in a job interview.

His firm/practice

50 lawyers spread over four offices around the country, with the HQ in Houston
Boutique litigation
Most known for life insurance litigation
Most of Will's practice is with oil/gas companies
Falling gas prices have an impact
Changing discovery rules (lowering thresholds) could impact how cases move through the process and perhaps go to trial more

COVID Update (11/12/20)

Already lean when it comes to staffing, and already was working with multiple offices around the country so the transition to work from home was pretty easy
Now in a hybrid mode: if you want to come up to the office you can (with protocols), but you can work from home if you want
In Spring/Summer there was doubt as to how much work could get done without trials and without in-person hearings/depos/etc., but this has turned out to be one of the busiest years they have had.
Lots of litigation spurred by COVID
Courts adapting to online hearings
Not one case has settled at mediation since COVID started
There is something said for people to go to a place, block the entire day, invest the time, as a drive toward settling
Virtual mediations don't raise the cost of not settling much, so there is less incentive
Resolutions still happen; they just take a bit longer
Depositions are tough on Zoom
Will wants to be in the room with his witness; the witness wants that too
They have used their office or even a rented out hotel conference room to have Will and the witness in the same room together
Getting up, putting on a suit, going to downtown Houston, creates some mental and attitudinal things for the lawyer and the witness that don't exist on Zoom (w/ COVID protocols like taking a COVID test, quarantining, etc. in advance)
Zoom can lead to relaxing and informality, and you don't want your witness to slip into that mindset and say something they shouldn't.
There can also be distractions (kids, dogs, etc.)
Hearings haven't changed much, but there are more of them since they are much easier to schedule
Judges are very prepared
We can probably continue to have more/video hearings post-COVID

Advice to lawyers in practice

Start your day early; Will gets in around/before 7am
As an associate he always got into the office before the partner that he did a lot of work for
Get your day started on the right foot
Being there early led to answering a partner call to work on a case; that client now gives Will about 40% of his business
Know that you aren't going to win them all, and that is okay (can be hard for the typical law student/lawyer to handle)
Can't take it personally
You have to let it go and keep after it; can't fret/dwell
Be critical of your side, your story, your facts, etc.
Make sure you know all the holes and are asking all the questions
You don't want to be surprised later, especially by the other side
Have original ideas about the case
It doesn't matter if they wound up getting used, it shows creativity and that you are thinking/caring about the case.
Think beyond what your assignment is
Don't be afraid to share your ideas!
Don't default to just meeting the task/expectations; take ownership of the case!
Re: business development
Work hard on your cases and show that you have value
Find attorneys to work for who will value/include you, and make yourself indispensable to them
Re: work/life balance
In the first few years, work probably takes priority
This is a practice, and the only way to get better is to put in the time
To go to trial and be a better lawyer, you have to put in the time

Advice to lawyers in job searching

Show that you are someone who can work autonomously
Show that you want to take charge and run cases
Show that you are going to work hard and that you want to win
Grit - Were you on multiple advocacy teams in law school? Did you write onto law review? Did you work in law school?

Final words of advice: This is a hard job! If it was easy, everyone would do it. There is a lot of stress. People look to you. You have to be a good writer, good in the courtroom, creative, sales/marketing. Night crew of associates to work/eat/socialize together!

Rapid Fire Questions:

Name the one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an associate: creativity
What habit has been key to your success: write down your next 24-48 hours of projects/tasks each day
Favorite app/productivity tool: Apple Notes
Favorite social distancing activity: waking the (new) dog
Favorite legal movie: Bridge of Spies

Thanks again to Will Thomas for joining us on the show!