My first exposure to the law came in the early 1990s when reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” in school. I was mesmerized by Atticus Finch and the courtroom drama in the novel. I was hooked on the idea of going to court and representing my clients to the best of my ability by persuading 12 strangers that my client was right and the other guy was wrong.
Perception is not reality. Sadly, Texas has experienced a sharp decline in civil jury trials over the past 20 years. According to an Office of Court Administration report, the percentage of cases resolved by jury verdict was 0.4 percent in district courts and 0.6 percent in county courts in 2010.
