In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements. One who does not know the enemy but knows himself will sometimes be victorious, sometimes meet with defeat. One who knows neither the enemy nor himself will invariably be defeated in every engagement.”

A common experience for a young litigator is to face a more experienced opponent in court. It is natural for young lawyers to be intimidated by court appearances. This can be particularly true when young lawyers encounter much more experienced attorneys (some of whom were admitted to the bar before they were born). Young lawyers can use the principles from The Art of War to close the “experience gap” when facing a seasoned opponent.

Know Your Enemy
The first step to closing the experience gap is knowing your opposing counsel. There are many ways to gain information about opposing counsel, from reading bios on firm websites, to researching jury verdicts on Westlaw, to gaining information from other attorneys in your area. Once you know your opposing counsel, you can use preparation to close the experience gap. Many older attorneys, regardless of their experience level, do not put the amount of preparation into cases that they should. Many of them also are not as adept at online legal research as their younger counterparts. This creates a wonderful opportunity for young lawyers to out-prepare their more seasoned opponents.

Know Yourself
Young lawyers must recognize that they cannot control the fact that they have less experience than their opponent. However, what they can control is how much they prepare. Preparation is the great equalizer. While a young attorney cannot hope to match a veteran’s intuition and facility that have been honed over hundreds of hearings, depositions, and trials, a young attorney can prepare better and harder than the veteran, and thus help level the playing field.

Preparation can take several forms, but it starts with knowing the facts of your case better than your opponent. Preparation also includes knowing the current status of the law for the issue that you are arguing. Many veteran attorneys use boilerplate motions and cite outdated case law. A young attorney who is a skilled researcher can often separate himself by pointing out to the judge that there have been new developments in the law since the 1980s.

Preparation also involves knowing the requirements and various preferences of a particular judge. Ask your colleagues about the tendencies of a particular judge. Even though every lawyer should take the time to understand what each courtroom expects, many do not do so. Consequently, a young lawyer’s attention to detail could well be emphasized by the experienced opponent’s lack of attention to this area.

The young lawyer must also know the federal and state civil rules as well as local rules of court, and must know them cold. By doing so, the young lawyer will be better prepared than most experienced lawyers, who may make motions or requests that are not allowed under the rules.

The next time you’re anxious about an upcoming trial, hearing, or deposition, remember one thing: your level of preparation will give you a huge advantage over even the most skilled and experienced opponent. And don’t let anxiety and stress get the best of you…there’s a good chance the more experienced attorney on the other side is sweating even more, and chances are, he or she has not read The Art of War.

Andrew is an attorney in Palm Bay, Florida for Alpizar Law, LLC, focusing his practice in the areas of personal injury and wrongful death.  Andrew serves as an elected representative on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.