Mark W. Bennett (45:24.671)
Sharif. And it's an art form. You know, there lots of rules, rules of separate procedure, rules of evidence, rules of criminal procedure. I get all that. But the bottom line is most part of trial work is the gray area. And so my philosophy always was, as a lawyer was, unless the judge has stopped me, I haven't gone far enough.

Mark W. Bennett (45:51.254)
And if the judge stops me, I have to be very graceful in apologizing and backing off. But you can get away with a lot of stuff before a judge is going to stop you. And you can't be fearful of pushing the boundaries because we don't know where those boundaries end. And they're different for every judge you practice in Brownhoof. The boundaries can be very different. And so...


Mark W. Bennett (01:05:45.772)
You have to have the desire and passion to be the best that you can be. And that takes an incredible amount of hard work. You have to find role models. It's good to read about it, but you have to watch and, and you have to second chair really good trial lawyers. And then you have to be fearless. You have to be fearless. Cause

Mark W. Bennett (01:06:14.7)
Not every trial is going to go like you thought it was going to go. Things are going to go south and you have to pick yourself up and learn from that and not be discouraged by it. The word is gritty. You have to be gritty. I Jerry Spence is a great example. He flunked the Colorado bar. mean, the yeah, the Colorado bar once, I think maybe twice, he lost his first state civil jury trials.

RVA Trial Lawyers: Virginia's Trial Lawyer Podcast

Trial lawyers do not become great overnight. It takes persistence, a relentless work ethic, a willingness to learn from mistakes, a burning passion for the craft, an authentic self, and the courage and vulnerability to enter the arena time and again.

Those who become great trial lawyers also become great people. Through their work, they grapple with the realities of the human condition and in the process cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, strength, compassion, and perseverance.

Based out of Richmond, RVA Trial Lawyers exists for Virginia’s trial lawyers. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to the RVA Trial Lawyers Newsletter, you can do so here.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki
RVA Trial Lawyers

"At the end of the day, what's behind dunking a basketball and what's behind being a badass cha-cha dancer is the same feeling. It's human, it's innate, and it's very real and powerful. And that's where decisions are made, like we talked about earlier. The biggest fallacy in what we do is the idea that people make decisions based on logic. They don't. And even the idea that they do is not true."

Joe Fried joined us on RVA Trial Lawyers. We discuss his work as a personal injury trial lawyer; the importance of authenticity, vulnerability, and connection with jurors; how framing and storytelling can influence decisions; and the need to understand oneself as a trial lawyer.

It was a privilege having Joe join us.

RVA Trial Lawyers: Virginia's Trial Lawyer Podcast

Trial lawyers do not become great overnight. It takes persistence, a relentless work ethic, a willingness to learn from mistakes, a burning passion for the craft, an authentic self, and the courage and vulnerability to enter the arena time and again.

Those who become great trial lawyers also become great people. Through their work, they grapple with the realities of the human condition and in the process cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, strength, compassion, and perseverance.

Based out of Richmond, RVA Trial Lawyers exists for Virginia’s trial lawyers. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to the RVA Trial Lawyers Newsletter, you can do so here.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki
RVA Trial Lawyers

"In almost every instance, the police officer doesn't go to work that day saying, I hope I get in a fight or shoot somebody today. I've never had that case. And so the human element is exactly what we're talking about. Who among us has a job when you go to work where you might end up in a fight, getting shot at, or having to shoot someone. These are people who are on the frontline dealing with every time they walk up to a car, something could happen."

David Corrigan joined us on RVA Trial Lawyers. We discuss his many years as a civil defense trial lawyer, his work defending police officers in civil rights cases, qualified immunity, and his commitment to mentoring the next generation of trial lawyers.

It was a privilege having David join us.

RVA Trial Lawyers: Virginia's Trial Lawyer Podcast

Trial lawyers do not become great overnight. It takes persistence, a relentless work ethic, a willingness to learn from mistakes, a burning passion for the craft, an authentic self, and the courage and vulnerability to enter the arena time and again.

Those who become great trial lawyers also become great people. Through their work, they grapple with the realities of the human condition and in the process cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, strength, compassion, and perseverance.

Based out of Richmond, RVA Trial Lawyers exists for Virginia’s trial lawyers. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Also, if you would like to subscribe to the RVA Trial Lawyers Newsletter, you can do so here.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki
RVA Trial Lawyers