day in court (as the audience)

Today I went to the county courthouse to observe part of a trial for a class assignment. I got to see the beginning of the plaintiff's case for a legal malpractice suit. It turned out to be quite interesting in a way. The plaintiff is the president of a company which, more than ten years ago, started a lawsuit against another company that he felt was trying to run him out of business. Since then he has gone through at least half a dozen law firms, half of which he ended up suing because he feels that they broke their contracts with him. The case I watched is merely the latest in this long series of disputes. The plaintiff himself was called to the stand as the first witness and I watched part of his testimony. The attorney did a pretty good job of trying to present his client in a good light, I thought. He knows that the jury is likely to think the plaintiff is a serial litigator and he worked hard to try and counteract this impression. I'd have to hear the defense's case to have a better idea what the truth is, of course. The attorney also did a good job of inviting the plaintiff to explain the litigation process to the jury. I knew what it was about - but I wouldn't have before taking my paralegal classes. All in all, it was quite interesting and I had a good time.