Authenticity You Gotta Have It

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Authenticity: You Gotta Have It I hope each of you had the chance to read Mette Kurth’s guest post: Your Sales Pitch: Better to be like Pistachio. I believe that authenticity can be Pistachio. So, speaking of debates, I believe the Vice Presidential debate showed an interesting contrast. I believe the public likes both Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. I suspect if you do a Google search today, you’d likely find someone suggesting he or she would prefer if they were running against each other for President. But, Tim Kaine was not the Tim Kaine most people know and like at the Vice Presidential debate. See this Washington Post article:  Tim Kaine seemed like he was trying too hard at the VP debate. The writer questioned Kaine’s authenticity. At the vice-presidential debate here Tuesday, however, Kaine turned in a performance that threatened to undermine the image of authenticity that has been one of his greatest strengths. If you are a regular reader, you may recall that I lost a jury trial in 1981 and was devastated by the loss. After I finally picked myself off the mat and dusted myself off, I read a book authored by famed trial lawyer,  Gerry Spence. If nothing else, I learned I had to be my authentic self in the courtroom. Thereafter, in rapid succession, I won a white collar criminal case, a patent infringement case and a construction contract case, all in federal court, all with the same judge. There are many articles you can read about Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyer’s College. Here are links to a couple with quotes about authenticity: JR Clary, Faculty Co-Leader at the upcoming February 2016 Georgia Regional Seminar on Closing Argument, discusses the value of TLC methods in his practice. Clary says: What I’ve learned time and again at the College is that to unleash the power of your client’s case, you have to be willing and courageous enough, and have the fortitude, to release yourself to tell your truth. You have to impart the truth about yourself first or you’ll never know the truth that exists within the hearts of the jurors with whom you are interacting. Authenticity, Honesty, and Humanity: Lessons From the Trial Lawyers’ College. Attorney Andrew Mishlove says: I can summarize the entire experience down to three words: authenticity, honesty, and humanity. I believe clients are like jurors. They can tell when the lawyer sitting across from them is authentic, or when he or she is not. When I was a young lawyer I had the opportunity to see many senior lawyers interact with clients. At first I tried to emulate what one of them was doing. It didn’t work. When I found my own voice, I was more comfortable and more successful.     I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.