Preparing for a major hearing or trial can really bring out the anxiety in an attorney as well as the legal support staff. As a paralegal, one of your major roles during this time is being prepared. Unless you are experiencing a situation in which you have an emergency hearing, most courts will give you at least 30 days notice of an upcoming hearing. While you can not predict everything that will happen at trial, you can position yourself to stay cool, calm and collective during this busy time by doing the following:

PLAN AHEAD

Since the court has given you ample notice, as soon as the hearing notification is received and calendared, you should schedule a meeting with your attorney. Make sure they understand you need to be prepared in order to sufficiently help them during the trial. Know all the players and go over the strategy or the overall plan of attack. Time is of the essence and when you start to lack time, everyone will begin to panic. That can potentially result in bad work product and/or worse, an unfavorable verdict.

As soon as notice is received, begin thinking of who will need to be subpoenaed. Many witnesses work or have a family to care for and could careless about a trial. Planning ahead and knowing who you may want to call as a witness, respectfully gives them time to be prepared and gives you as the Paralegal, time to speak with each witnesses and build a relationship with them. Often times, an attorney may come across as “pompous” and someone the witness does not want to speak with. As a paralegal, you understand both sides and can easily explain to the witness what and why they are needed in a more relaxed way.

BE ORGANIZED

This should be an easy task if you’ve been organized from the inception of the case. Player’s should be up to date, all documents received from the client and opposing side should be completely organized and even indexed. Being organized from the start will make it extremely easy to provide the attorney on the case with any and all documents they may need and will help with preparing trial exhibits.

KNOW THE CASE

If you have no idea about what the case is about, you will experience extreme anxiety and frustration. Often times the attorney assigned to the case will not remember to tell you every deal of the case. That will make it hard for you to know what will be expected. If you are thrown into a case, which happens more often than not, do not stress. Try to read over the Complaint and Answer to get an idea about what the case is about. That will also get you familiar with the names of all of the parties. Try to schedule a time to sit down and speak with the attorney handling the case. If they are too busy, try sending them an email letting them know you need a little information about the case.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

At this stage of the case, all hands should be on deck. No one person should be responsible for all aspects of the hearing. The associate should know as much as the paralegal and legal assistant. That way, anyone can jump in at the drop of a dime to assist.

STAY POSITIVE

Chances are you will be belittled and ignored by the attorney on the case. Remain positive and continue to put your best face forward. I know it’s a lot easier said than done but it is possible.

A trial can be extremely stressful for everyone. If you assume from the start of a case that it might go to trial, and you stay organized and informed from the beginning it will help you in stay calm during trial. Also remember to not be so hard on yourself. You did your best with what you were presented.