What’s the Difference Between an Attorney and a Trial Attorney?

An attorney is someone who is licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction (such as New York State). A trial attorney is a special type of lawyer with experience representing clients at trial. 

Although all trial attorneys are attorneys, most attorneys are not trial attorneys. Technically, however, any attorney in good standing can take a case to trial.

What They Both Have in Common: How To Become an Attorney in New York State

These are the steps to qualifying as an attorney in New York:

• Graduate from law school. Graduating from law school typically takes three years of full-time study, leading to a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Most lawyers qualify to practice law in New York by graduating from an American Bar Association (ABA) approved law school. New York law offers other paths to qualify as a lawyer, but most aspiring lawyers don’t use them.
• Pass the New York State Bar Exam, a two-day test that takes a total of about 12 hours to complete.
• Complete the New York Character and Fitness Application, which requires you to disclose information about your character and fitness to practice law.
• Pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), which tests knowledge of professional ethics. 
• Complete the New York Law Course and pass the New York Law Exam.
• Apply for admission to the New York State Bar Association.

If the New York State Bar Association admits you, you can practice law in most practice areas (with special exceptions such as patent law) throughout the state.

Duties and Skills of an Attorney Who Is Not a Trial Attorney

In personal injury and criminal defense law, an attorney who is not a trial attorney typically engages in the following activities:

• Legal consultation: Advising their client on their rights, responsibilities, strategies, and options 
• Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their client’s case and, in the case of a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney, determining the value of their client’s claim.
• Negotiating plea bargains and settlements in criminal prosecutions and personal injury claims, respectively. 
• Performing legal research and analyzing relevant materials such as police reports.
• Drafting legal documents such as demand letters, plea bargain agreements, and settlement agreements.
• Negotiating bail;
• Recruiting and working with expert witnesses to establish critical facts such as DNA identification, loss of income or loss of potential earnings.

Criminal defense and personal injury attorneys undertake many other tasks as well.

Duties and Skills of a Trial Attorney

A successful trial attorney must master a variety of difficult skills that many other attorneys (trust and estate lawyers, for example) need not master, such as:

• Successfully conducting jury selection to identify and select jurors who are likely to favor their client’s case;
• Distilling complex and nuanced legal concepts into language that non-lawyers (typically jurors) can easily understand;
• Creating and delivering persuasive arguments in written and spoken form;
• Examining and cross-examining witnesses;
• “Thinking on their feet” to object to improper tactics or arguments used by the other side;
• Reacting quickly and effectively to surprise testimony, last-minute witnesses, new evidence, etc.; and
• Mastering the intricate rules of evidence and civil procedure.

The foregoing is only an abbreviated list of the skills that a successful trial lawyer must master.   

Contact Our New York Personal Injury Law Firm Today at Passalacqua & Associates, LLC 

If you need a New York criminal defense or personal injury attorney, it’s best to act quickly. Speed is particularly important in criminal prosecutions, because New York prosecutors often move aggressively against criminal defendants. It also takes time to build a strong personal injury case, and there are critical deadlines to meet.

Get in touch with an experienced attorney today for a free consultation to learn about your legal rights and options.

If you were injured in an accident in Utica or Syracuse, and need legal help, contact our New York personal injury lawyers at Passalacqua & Associates, LLC to schedule a free case review today.

Passalacqua & Associates, LLC
7 Hopper St,
Utica, NY 13501
Open 24/7
(315) 500-6425

Passalacqua & Associates, LLC
499 S Warren St #220,
Syracuse, NY 13202
Open 24/7
(315) 500-6425