At ninety-six, going on ninety-seven years old, Gene Majeski, the second inductee into the Litigation Section’s Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame, is enjoying a well-deserved retirement from practicing law and writing articles for California Litigation. As such, he has chosen to let his long-time friends and colleagues collectively share, through this article, the 10 most important lessons they have learned from him. Their hope is that these lessons will aid others in their journey to become successful trial attorneys

Cardullo, Kassie

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Golden Gate University School of Law: Digital Commons

Golden Gate University School of LawGGU Law Digital CommonsStudent Publications Student Scholarship2013Gene Majeski’s 10 Key Lessons to Becoming aSuccessful Trial AttorneyKassie CardulloGolden Gate University School of LawFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/studentpubsPart of the Other Law CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at GGU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion inStudent Publications by an authorized administrator of GGU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact jfischer@ggu.edu.Recommended CitationCalifornia Litigation, Vol. 26 No. 2, 2013, at 10.10At ninety-six, going on ninety-sevenyears old, Gene Majeski, the sec-ond inductee into the LitigationSection’s Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame, is enjoy-ing a well-deserved retirement from practic-ing law and writing articles for CaliforniaLitigation. As such, he has chosen to let hislong-time friends and colleagues collectivelyshare, through this article, the 10 most im-portant lessons they have learned from him.Their hope is that these lessons will aid oth-ers in their journey to become successfultrial attorneys.Gene Majeski’s 10 Key Lessons to Becoming a Successful Trial AttorneyBy Kassie CardulloCalifornia Litigation Vol. 26 • No 2 • 2013Eugene J. Majeski111. Be YourselfTo be a successful trial attorney, you mustconnect with your audience. If you want yourclient, opposing counsel, the judge, and thejury to believe you, you have to be yourself. Atactic or style that is successful for one attor-ney may not be successful for you. Do nothide your personality or try to be someonethat you are not. Juries trust the genuine. According to Michael Brady, a long-timecolleague, Majeski is famous for talking to thejury like he was “sitting across from them atthe dinner table.” In every stage of a trial,Majeski is himself. He uses his natural per-sonality to encourage the members of thejury to trust him and see him as their friend,to his clients’ advantage.2. If You Don’t Know Something, Just Say SoThe biggest mistake a new attorney canmake is to act like they know everything. Noone knows everything. If you are wrong, sayso. If you don’t know something, thenexpress that. It is perfectly acceptable to say:“I don’t know, but I will quickly find out.”John Bentley, Majeski’s long-time friendand partner at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn, &Bentley, says that “Gene always takes thetime to get the right answer, rather than to bewrong in front of a jury or judge.” He knowsthat his credibility is defined by his image oftrustworthiness. If you don’t know somethingand you guess wrong, this critical image oftrustworthiness is tarnished. It is almost im-possible to salvage your case once you havedamaged your credibility in that way. Always remember that the goal is believ-ability. You want the jury to believe what youare saying and why you are saying it. Youwant them to hear your words and think,“that makes sense” or “that’s what I wasthinking.” The jury needs to believe in yourstory, so don’t taint your case by actinginfallible.3. Always Respect Opposing CounselEven if your opposing counsel is doing aterrible job, or is blatantly untruthful, berespectful. A jury will begin to feel sympathyfor the opposing client if you appear to beattacking or belittling their counsel. Majeski keeps his professionalism at theforefront of his practice. Bentley describes acase where Majeski’s opposing counsel wasparticularly inept. He could sense that thejury was beginning to feel sorry for the coun-sel’s client. Rather than trying to make hisopponent look worse in the eyes of the jury,Majeski suggested to the jury that opposingcounsel’s performance was merely a tactic ofa brilliant attorney. This enabled the jury to‘When you areexamining a witness,whether in crossor direct, alwaysknow when tostop asking questions.The goal is to get inand get out’12focus on the merits of the case, and find infavor of Majeski’s client.4. Don’t Ever Try to be FunnyA trial is not a joke and the jury needs tobelieve that you are taking your client’s case,and their time, seriously. This is not to say,however, that humor cannot be an effectivetool in the courtroom. In fact, according toBentley, Majeski is the master of utilizing hispersonality in the courtroom. He never triesto be funny. He just is.Bentley says that “Gene is a small manwith a giant personality.” Bentley furtherrecalls a time when Majeski represented anairline in a case where a man had broken intothe cockpit of a plane and shot the pilot.Majeski wanted the jury to understand howeasy it would have been to break down thedoor. He did this by stretching as tall as hecould and exclaiming that even “a guy mysize” could break down that door. It wasfunny, but he was not trying to be funny. Hewas trying to make a point, and he did. Andby making the point with humor, at hisexpense, he connected with the jury.This is all consistent with always beingyourself. If you are a naturally charismaticperson, then utilize that. Don’t hide your per-sonality by trying to be someone you’re not.5. Be Clear and ConciseSpeak in plain English, but do not talkdown to the jury. Explain your case in a waythat is understandable and gets to the point.Always remember that the members of thejury are taking time out of their lives to be inthe courtroom. Do not repeat yourself orwaste their time. If you have made yourpoint, move on. If you keep repeating thesame point, the jury will stop listening. Brady describes Majeski as very conversa-tional with the jury. While in trial, Majeskifocuses much of his time trying to make thecase as understandable as possible. Everyoneknows Majeski as the man who can take eventhe most complicated, tornado of a case, andturn it into a cool breeze for the jury. Healways acknowledges that the jury has limit-ed knowledge about the trial process andlegal language. It’s a fact that the easier you can make acase for the jury, the more likely they will seethe case your way. This takes practice. Find awilling “non-lawyer” and try explaining yourcase to them. Discover what is complicatedand then figure out how to explain the issuesclearly and concisely.6. Put Yourself in the Shoes of Your OpponentAt all stages of litigation, you need to con-sider and understand your opponent’s fears,weaknesses, strategies, and goals. According‘Never, ever talk tothe interpreter insteadof the witness. Alwaysremember that theinterpreter is theconduit for theperson talking.’13to Bentley, Majeski describes this process as“having a silent trial in your mind.” Majeski is the master of anticipating hisopponent’s strategies. For example, Bradydescribes a time when Majeski tried a casewhere a mortuary failed to cremate the dece-dent in a timely manner. The decedent andhis wife, as Buddhists, believed that if thebody wasn’t cremated within 24 hours thesoul would be trapped in purgatory. Thedecedent’s wife brought suit when she dis-covered that her husband wasn’t crematedwithin that window. Majeski represented the mortuary and heknew that his client had been negligent. Heanticipated that his opposing counsel wasgoing to focus on proving that negligence. Here-strategized, focusing on damages, arguingthat there was no way to measure the harmof a soul lost in purgatory. As a result ofMajeski’s strategy of focusing on the weak-ness of his opponent‘s case, rather than try-ing to deny the weakness of his own, the juryfound Majeski’s client liable for negligence,but awarded the plaintiff nothing by way ofdamages.7. Never Over-Ice the CakeWhen you are examining a witness,whether in cross or direct, always know whento stop asking questions. The goal is to get inand get out. If you get a good answer, espe-cially on cross, don’t try to get the witness torepeat it. Nine times out of 10 they won’t.They will realize their mistake or the impor-tance of what was just said. Given anotheropportunity, they will change their answer orjustify their previous answer with other infor-mation that will destroy the important pointyou just made.According to Bentley, Majeski alwaysknows when to move on. Once he gets theanswer he is looking for, he changes paths,saving that answer for his closing argument.Answers you get during direct and cross arejust puzzle pieces. Once they fit, hold on tothem, and then put the puzzle together forthe jury in closing.8. Know How to Properly Use an InterpreterNever, ever talk to the interpreter insteadof the witness. Always remember that theinterpreter is the conduit for the person talk-ing. Questions should never begin with“please ask them” or “I want to ask them.”Such questions do harm to your client andyour overall case. It doesn’t matter what sidethe witness is on, it is disrespectful to thewitness and confusing for the jury if you donot speak directly to the witness.Do not let an interpreter get away withparaphrasing a witness. You should neverhear “he is trying to say” or “he means that.”If you hear those words, the interpreter is notdoing their job correctly. Take control of theexamination and do not let this happen. If theinterpreter is not fading into the background,then you are not doing your job.According to Bentley, “Gene always looksat the witness, talks to the witness, andresponds to the witness.” Further, Majeskipractices and teaches that knowing how toproperly use an interpreter is the key to mak-ing sure that your jury is following along.They need to be paying attention to theimportant information coming from the wit-ness. Important information could mean thedifference between a win and a loss for yourclient.9. Educate Yourself and Your PeersMajeski is a big believer in keeping himself,and all of his attorneys, updated on ever-evolving case law. Continuing education isthe key to a successful career as a trial attor-ney. If you don’t know and understand thelaw, you cannot adequately represent anyclient.Majeski has always found education to beparamount to his own career and the careersof the attorneys at his firm. According toMark Bonino, a long-time colleague, educa-tion has been a primary concern of Majeskifrom the beginning. Bonino describes thatvery early on in Majeski’s practice, he devel-14oped a system that would ensure that hisfirm was always highly educated. He requiredthat all new associates receive updates on thelaw and then teach the rest of the firm whatthey had learned. Every Friday, all attorneyswould meet and the associates would updatethem on new case law. This assured thateveryone was knowledgeable and educated. Take the time to learn what the law is,where it is going, and how it is being applied.While this seems like an impossible endeavor,teamwork makes education more manage-able. When everyone works together, every-one can achieve success.10. Your Reputation is EverythingYour reputation in the community will de-fine your career. Be honorable in everythingyou do, everything you say, the way you treatpeople, and the way you treat yourself. JudgeJ. Barton Phelps, a long-time friend and for-mer partner at Majeski’s firm, notes thatMajeski has a reputation for being a man ofintegrity.According to Judge Phelps, Majeski haslived the adage that you should never lie in orto the court. Not only will this ruin your repu-tation with your colleagues, it will ruin yourreputation with the bench. Judges never for-get and judges talk to each other. If the courtloses respect and trust for you, winningmotions on behalf of future clients will bemuch more difficult. Everything you say willbe looked at with skepticism.Judge Phelps, Brady, and Bentley attributemuch of Majeski’s success to his reputationwith the bench. Judges admire Majeski andtrust that he is always being forthcoming andhonest. He established that reputation earlyon in his practice. This helped him to winmotions and evidentiary arguments while intrial. This is because, according to Brady,judges respected Majeski so much that theynot only paid attention to him, they oftenrelied upon his judgment.Moreover, according to Bentley, Majeskinever forgets that he is representing peoplethat are in a crisis. Both sides are in crisis. Assuch, “Gene is always sympathetic.” The abil-ity to sympathize with the jury, your client,and opposing counsel’s position defines yourreputation in the community. Gene Majeski is as successful as theycome. His intelligence, charisma, and naturalsense of humor have provided him with a lifeand career to which we can all aspire.Remember, your success is defined by youractions and your willingness to grow andlearn with changing times. Be yourself, beconfident without being arrogant, be deci-sive, be educated, and above all else, be sym-pathetic. Good luck! Kassie Cardullo is a third-year law student atGolden Gate University School of Law workingas a law clerk at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn &Bentley.

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