“When I was a New Lawyer”: Jim Myrick Offers Perspective from the Trenches, Offers Sage Advice in ABA Interview

CHARLESTON, S.C.—Jim Myrick began practicing in 1988. In the more than 27 years since, he has litigated scores of cases—and learned plenty along the way that isn’t contained in any law school curriculum.

Recently, Myrick shared some of his knowledge with attorneys across the country in an interview titled “When I was a New Lawyer” for TortSource, the quarterly publication of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice circulated to more than 22,000 recipients.

In the article, Myrick shares the following advice he learned as a young attorney:

“First, it's only possible to be effective and courteous (which every lawyer should be) if you are prepared. A conference call with opposing counsel, for example, begins with an outline.

Second, spend time with the uncomfortable parts of your case. You can try to evade or minimize, but your experience with the ultimate judge or jury is vastly improved if you map out your response fully.

Third, be resourceful. In my early years, an opposing counsel and I were set for a three-day trial. We agreed to share audio-visual equipment for de bene esse depositions. His managing partner swooped in at the last minute to try the case. On the morning I was to commence my defense, the equipment disappeared. As the jury filed in, the partner told me, ‘Well, you had no agreement with me.’ What that partner did not know was that the courthouse held another set of equipment one floor below in the solicitor's office. Had I not thought to use courthouse friendships to solve the problem, the jury would have been delayed and perhaps less inclined to give me the verdict they did.”

He also addresses such questions as “What challenges you the most?,” “Whom do you most admire?” and “What was the best professional advice you ever received?”

In February, Myrick also completed his term as President of the 2,200-member Charleston County Bar Association.

Jim Myrick is a veteran litigator with experience in commercial, personal injury, products liability, environmental and land use disputes. Myrick has argued appeals before the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals For the Fourth Circuit.