A scared attorney is a good thing

Preparing to go before a judge is not as easy as it looks. There is a lot of time and energy that goes into making sure that your case is presented in a way to can get you the outcome that you’re looking.

Unfortunately, one of the wild cards is how a judge will respond to what you’re trying to do. It’s not the judge looking to cause harm to your case. It’s just that, as an attorney, you’re preparing for all contingencies because you just don’t know which way the court may go on a particular issue.

And it’s the unknown that can be very nerve-racking. When an attorney has committed themselves to representing you, they know that it is in your best interest to be prepared for every possible scenario that may present itself. Which means, they may have to pivot on a moment's notice if a judge rules a particular way or a judge asking particular question. This can be even more nerve-racking if the judge asks a question that they did not anticipate or rules in a manner that you didn’t account.

I know that when you hire an attorney that you believe that you have hired someone with nerves of steel and a steady resolve and a confidence level to go in there to kick butt and take names. But I can probably tell you that even the best attorneys will tell you that they are nervous about what will happen. Most attorneys will probably tell you it’s that nervous energy that they rely upon because it keeps them sharp and it keeps them on their toes. They don’t go in there thinking that they have this case in the bag. They never take for granted the reality that the judge may go in a different direction.

Whether you believe it or not, you should want your attorney to be scared because that means they are alert. That means they are preparing for every reality.

You may be nervous about your case but your attorney wants to make sure that they have every possible scenario ready to be addressed and they are completely aware of the fact that there’s a good possibility that there may be some things thrown at them that they did not anticipate. That’s what they trained to anticipate. They are there to deal with the various nuances that present themselves that even they didn’t know would appear.

So the next time you ask your attorney if they are nervous about your case and they say yes, just realize that nervousness is a good thing. That means they are alert to what may happen next.

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