On the Stand With Doug Carsten

Why did you become a trial lawyer?

The short answer is “My Cousin Vinny.” I was in graduate school for chemistry, and I was miserable. I saw the movie “My Cousin Vinny” and thought, “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

The longer answer is there’s absolutely nothing like trying a case. In my view, it’s the pinnacle of lawyering. Being a trial lawyer requires you to think incredibly quickly on your feet with every ounce of concentration you can muster. You play the part of psychotherapist, strategist, field marshal, counselor, ringmaster and actor. You need to excel at the different skill sets required for each role.

You also never know where the next hour of trial is going to go, but it’s up to you to create it. Trial lawyers build that universe that exists within the courtroom for everyone to see. I love doing that.

What is a common issue you see clients face going into trial, and how do you avoid it?

In trial, unlike many things in life, you have a definite winner and a definite loser. There’s a lot of risk involved, and it’s a risk that’s outside of the client’s hands.

The clients that I work with are sophisticated C-suite executives at big companies. They’re used to their word being taken at face value. They’re not used to dealing with a situation where so much authority and power is taken out of their hands.

To get my clients in front of this uncertainty, I have important discussions with them ahead of trial. I must make sure they are OK with giving up some of that power. I also help them decide whether they can get comfortable relinquishing power and if they prefer a potential resolution instead of going to trial.

A good trial lawyer should always be ready to try the case, but you must also recognize when the client can achieve a better result elsewhere. I give clients my best advice as to when to play it out and when to fold the hand.

What is the proudest moment of your career to date?

I like to think that my proudest moment in the courtroom is going to be some time in the future.

I’ve been able to get some great results for my clients. But what I’m most proud of is giving younger lawyers every opportunity to become a far better trial lawyer than I could ever hope to be. I’m fortunate to have been able to watch some amazing younger lawyers develop and grow into the trial lawyers they are today, knowing that I’ve had a small hand in shaping their careers.

We are stewards of our profession, and mentoring young lawyers is the thing I love best about what I do.

What advice do you give to junior trial lawyers before their first trial?

My advice is you must know who you are. I learned to practice law by essentially watching people who had been practicing a lot longer than I had. I watched what they did and how they behaved in certain situations. And I constantly asked myself, “Is that something that resonates with who I am? Is that something that I could do and would be comfortable doing?”

I often give the example of watching Johnnie Cochran arguing to the jury, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” I could never pull that off, but I admired and respected the concept of distilling a very complicated case into something so simple. That’s a lesson I apply in a way that is consistent with who I am.

So, I encourage every young lawyer to soak up everything they can when working with very skilled and successful trial lawyers, retaining the traits that resonate with who they are. Juries can easily sniff out insincerity, and they’ll know if you’re not being authentic. You need to figure out who you are as a trial lawyer and play to those strengths. That’s when great things happen and lawyers can really shine in court.

What is one thing people wouldn’t learn about you by looking at your bio?

Working through cases with a team and being in the courtroom energizes me. In a perfect job, I would try three or four big cases a year. I would learn everything I could about a case, try it, forget it and then pick up the next one.

Unfortunately, cases don’t quite work that way, so I value any time I get to have in the courtroom. And I try to get a line from “My Cousin Vinny” on the transcript in every trial.