Monday Mentors with Dallas Litigator Alex Bell

Alex Bell joins us on today's show! Alex is a Senior Attorney with MacDonald Devin in Dallas, and he talks about going from criminal law to civil law, how you are always doing business development, and what adding numbers to your resume can do for you.

His firm/practice

• General/full-service defense firm
• His group focuses on defending architects and engineers, and working on construction projects
• Could be litigation re: professional liability or contracts with acquisitions
• Started his career in D.A.'s office in McLennan County/Waco
  • Got into the courtroom and got trial experience right away
  • Doesn't pay like the civil side obviously (but better hours and more days off)
  • Gives you the experience of living out of the courtroom
  • Started trying cases within weeks of starting there; always in front of the judges and work closely with the criminal defense bar, so helps you develop relationships and soft skills in handling cases
• When he wanted to return home to Dallas, he found an opportunity with Fletcher Farley who has a lot of former DAs
• Much of the construction world has experienced a COVID slowdown, and that impacts his clients
  • safety best practices
  • dealing with project delays
  • counseling clients on the front-end in hopes of avoiding litigation
  • Should employees be required by their employer to be vaccinated before returning to in-person work? What does that policy look like?

COVID Update (April 7, 2021)

• In the past month or two he has had two in-person depositions, which felt strange
• Will still lots of Zoom hearings/depos/etc.
• Some hope that jury trials are on their way back
  • For the past year, it's basically been a full-stop except for some small cases
  • Harris County starting jury selections soon
  • Hoping to be back completely at the start of 2022
  • Need to keep jurors safe
• Once everything is back, it will probably be a case by case decision re: whether to do in-person v Zoom depos
• He likes Zoom depos; forces you to be organized; ensures everyone is looking at the same exhibit when it is being discussed
  • How can we incorporate those benefits into an in-person environment?
  • Why fly and stay overnight for a one hour depo? Probably won't make sense moving forward.
  • Hopes judges will keep Zoom in place for quick hearings too.

Advice for lawyers in practice

• Understand how the task you are working on fits into the bigger picture
  • Look backwards; how are the questions I am asking in this depo going to fit with what we want to prove at trial? What do they and we need to prove, and how can I get what I need out of this depo?
  • Over time, you should learn how to do a bundle of tasks and how to lead others to help if it's a multi-person task; have to know how everything fits together for this to work.
  • Helps to have insatiable curiosity, which might mean knowing the file inside and out (the entire file not just what you are working on) as well as asking colleagues and partners about the case, strategy, etc.
    • Ask the person who assigned you a task what the purpose/strategy is behind it
    • Ask to go sit in on a hearing/depo
• There is even more importance now on the written work product
  • It is how you make a first impression
  • With COVID judges are limiting hearings, etc. and instead are making decisions based on submission
  • Helps to develop a strong reputation
  • How you address errors/mistakes is important; credibility on the line
• Know what judges like
  • one judge likes to receive notebooks with everything in in; so that's what he does when they have that judge
• Re: business development: you are doing it all the time, whether you think you are or not
  • business development is nothing more than building relationships and your reputation
  • comes from colleagues, opposing counsel, classmates, insurance adjusters/managers

Advice for lawyers in the job hunt

• Looks for relatable work experience
  • How much experience do you have doing the things you'll be doing here?
  • Sometimes this gets glossed over
• If you had a short stint at a law firm or have moved around a lot, be prepared to address it
• Can the candidate communicate the skills they have rather than the area they have been practicing in?
  • Skills can transfer from one area to another!
  • Subject matter area can often be learned
• Include quantities on your resume
  • Provides specificity to the experience
  • Good advocacy on behalf of the candidate
  • Shows organization and that you keep track of the work you've done
  • Be accurate and err on the low side

Final Thoughts

• Find something that you enjoy spending your time doing. If you aren't happy, find something else to do. Keep looking.

Rapid Fire Questions

• Name one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an associate: curiosity
• What habit has been key to your success: consistency/organization
• Favorite legal app/software: Trialpad Suite
• Favorite pen: Pilot Precision Precise V7
• Favorite social distancing activity: walks around the neighborhood
• Favorite legal movie: The Rainmaker

Thanks so much to Alex Bell for joining us on today's show!