Worse Than Nerves part 1
It is important for an advocate to hold his nerve. Although trial by battle has long since been abolished, in a sense every time you do a case you are in a battle on behalf of the client. A battle played strictly in accordance with the rules, where you are to do your best. Doing your best means just that. No lawyer wins all their cases. What you have to ensure is that your client does not lose out just because you have not got the guts to put the case in the way that it needs putting.
I once remember speaking to a distinguished family law barrister. She had just done a case where grandparents had wanted to seek access to a child. She was on the other side, with instructions to oppose the application by the grandparents. She thought that the grandparents had a reasonable case. However the grandparents gave up. It was obvious to her that their lawyer had no stomach for the fight and had effectively persuaded them to throw the towel in. It was a win for her, but one which left a bitter taste in the mouth. An advocate must always remember that if the client does not get what they want they have lost. The same if you agree that by settlement as if you lose in court. Whilst few settlements are completely black-and-white - you might find if your client is likely to lose that the deal on offer is a lot better than the likely judgment - if the advocate does not hold his or her nerve then the client has no hope.
Still it could be a lot worse. Every lawyer is conscious of the impact that their efforts can have upon the future life of their clients. Sometimes lose a case and the client’s life is ruined forever. Other times if you lose they or their family will suffer real problems or distress. By way of example, at the conclusion of one case the client told me thatgiven the outcome his children would still be able to return to private school for new academic year. Lose and he would have had to pull the plug on everything, schools, house, the lot.
That though is nothing compared to the pressure people used to have. There was a time when a large percentage of criminal cases carried the death penalty. Therefore in those times barristers representing criminals would go into court and frequently the consequence of their failing to win might be that their clients could be executed. Week in, week out, one would imagine that that was something of a strain on the nervous system. Presumably they either went mad or became battle hardened.
That can still be a problem for lawyers in some parts of the world. The Times recently ran a piece on a Sudanese lawyer who recalled his first case. He was a trainee sent to court on a preliminary issue for the accused. The next thing trial judge unexpectedly called the case on for trial, and gave the trainee rights of audience so he could act for the defendant during the trial. His first trial, with his client potentially facing the death penalty. Fortunately he won. Now that is real pressure. Giving you something that is properly described as worse than nerves.