Why a Certified Trial Lawyer?
Victoria Swanson is one of only 6,000 attorneys in the nation who is a certified civil trial advocate. Ms. Swanson has been certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1994. In order to be certified by the NBTA (the only such organization for attorneys), Ms. Swanson had to comply with various requirements, including passing a day-long examination, submitting names of judges and lawyers who were contacted by the NBTA to independently verify her skill, experience and her reputation for ethical and professional conduct, and she had to demonstrate her active participation in multiple trials before judges and juries. Every five years, Ms. Swanson must continue to demonstrate her trial competency to the Board.
The National Board of Trial Advocacy is accredited by the American Bar Association and its mission has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, finding that “Information about certification and specialties facilitates the consumer’s access to legal services and thus better serves the administration of justice.” The Supremem Court went on to say that the NBTA’s certification “both serves the public interest and encourages the development and utilization of meritorious certification programs for attorneys.” Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois, 110 S.Ct. 2281 (1990)
Why should it matter whether your lawyer is a board certified trial lawyer if you want your case resolved without having to go to trial? Virtually 98% of civil cases never actually go to trial. This is because they are settled out of court. But what will motivate your opponent to want to settle with you out of court? If you are represented by an experienced trial lawyer who is making reasonable requests for settlement on your behalf, the opposition knows it would probably be foolish to take the case to trial against an experienced, skilled, litigator.
On the other hand, if the opposition knows something you don’t know—that your lawyer has virtually no experience in court or has demonstrated a serious lack of skill in court—the opposition is much less likely to meet your settlement demands because they feel confident bout their chances of success against your lawyer in court.
For these reasons, the most powerful advantage you can have is a lawyer who is known to be a highly-skilled trial lawyer. The odds are much greater that such a lawyer will be able to successfully negotiate an out-of-court settlement for you. Litigation is often compared to war. In litigation, as in war, the side with the greatest skill and experience is usually able to avoid conflict because the opposition is not willing to risk the consequences against such a capable opponent.
Therefore, as strange as it may seem at first, your chances of successfully resolving your case out of court are much better when you are represented by a skilled, experienced trial lawyer who is well-known and respected by the opposition. The NBTA makes these lawyers known to the public by identifying them as “Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.”