Every
so
often,
new
lawyers
ask
me
for
advice
on
how
they
can
best
succeed
in
the
legal
profession.
I
usually
give
young
lawyers
a
few
strategies,
including
how
they
should
work
at
a
stable
law
firm,
develop
a
specialty,
and
build
connections
that
can
help
them
originate
business.
When
it
comes
to
learning
how
to
be
more
successful
in
a
courtroom,
I
usually
suggest
that
new
lawyers
listen
to
oral
arguments,
especially
if
they
also
have
a
case
to
be
heard
that
day,
so
they
can
see
how
other
practitioners
advocate
on
behalf
of
their
clients.
When
I
was
an
intern
for
a
judge
during
a
summer
in
law
school,
I
had
a
front-row
seat
to
some
extremely
interesting
legal
matters. I
saw
good
advocates,
bad
advocates,
and
everything
in
between
who
all
argued
a
multitude
of
different
matters.
One
day,
I
noticed
a
young
lawyer
in
the
crowd
in
a
nearly
empty
courtroom.
I
overheard
the
lawyer
saying
that
he
had
a
similar
case
to
the
one
being
tried
and
that
he
wanted
to
observe
how
other
lawyers
approach
various
legal
issues
related
to
the
matter.
Initially,
I
wondered
how
this
lawyer
had
so
much
time
to
attend
court
for
observational
purposes
as
well
as
handle
all
of
his
client
files. However,
on
second
thought,
I
reasoned
that
attending
court
like
this
lawyer
did
was
a
great
use
of
his
time. Law
school
and
the
bar
exam
do
not
teach
lawyers
many
practical
skills,
but
attending
court
can
help
young
lawyers
learn
how
the
legal
process
works.
Shortly
after
taking
the
bar
exam,
I
had
a
few
months
before
I
started
my
associate
attorney
gig
at
a
Biglaw
firm.
Since
I
was
not
doing
much,
I
figured
I
would
go
to
court
a
few
days
a
month
and
just
observe
the
courtroom
happenings.
In
some
situations,
it
was
difficult
to
understand
the
proceedings
as
I
did
not
have
the
papers
or
context
related
to
the
issues
that
were
being
litigated.
However,
I
observed
various
advocacy
skills
I
also
employed
when
I
entered
practice.
After
I
started
practicing
law,
attending
court
simply
to
observe
proceedings
for
educational
purposes
became
much
more
difficult.
However,
whenever
I
had
a
court
appearance,
I
would
usually
arrive
in
court
early
and
observe
the
matters
that
were
on
the
court’s
docket
before
my
own.
In
this
way,
I
was
able
to
continue
observing
advocacy
tactics
and
learn
about
different
areas
of
the
law
without
making
a
dedicated
trip
to
court.
Another
reason
why
it
is
beneficial
to
appear
in
court
early
to
observe
proceedings
is
that
it
can
give
practitioners
significant
insight
into
the
judge
before
whom
they
will
be
appearing. If
a
lawyer
is
able
to
see
how
judges
treat
lawyers,
they
can
adopt
their
own
methods
to
best
appeal
to
the
specific
judge
before
whom
they
will
be
arguing.
I
know
some
lawyers
who
appear
exactly
when
they
are
scheduled
to
argue
a
matter,
and
I
always
think
that
such
lawyers
would
have
been
better
served
if
they
arrived
a
little
early
to
observe
the
court
and
the
judge
who
would
be
deciding
a
given
matter.
In
any
case,
observing
court
proceedings
is
a
great
way
to
acquire
practical
knowledge
of
the
law. Even
if
attorneys
do
not
have
the
time
to
make
dedicated
trips
to
court
to
observe
hearings,
they
can
still
come
to
court
early
on
their
appearance
and
witness
other
practitioners
in
action.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of
The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of
Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at
jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.