Houston, TX commercial litigation attorney David Berg talks about the types of cases his firm handles as well as what you should look for in hiring a lawyer. He remarks that the firm reflects the experience of the lawyers within it. In his own career, he has tried everything from ordinary state court criminal cases to highly complex patent infringement matters. The firm handles a wide range of litigation, but it is not transactional; they generally take on cases that have gone awry in the transactional process.

When asked what he looks for in hiring a trial lawyer, he shares an illustrative story. A friend of his, the head of a Fortune 500 oil company, faced an extraordinarily difficult lawsuit. He had hired the head of litigation at a major law firm. Curious about the lawyer’s trial experience, he asked, “How many cases have you actually tried, and what were the results?”

The answer: only one case, and it had settled mid-trial. He pointed out to his friend that, in effect, the lawyer had no real trial experience, yet he was the head of litigation. His advice to anyone hiring a trial lawyer is simple: ask about their experience. If a lawyer hasn’t prepared a case, gone to trial, won some, and lost some, they are not seasoned litigators.

In his view, the main ingredient in a successful trial lawyer is real, hands-on experience—selecting a jury, preparing a case, and taking it to a verdict.