In the coming weeks, Dallas lawyers Leighton Durham and Kirk Pittard will devour three color-coded publications as if their practices depended on it. That’s because the 2012 Texas Pattern Jury Charges (PJC) books are to Durham and Pittard what medical journals are to physicians.

A big part of the partners’ practice is advising civil trial lawyers on the delicate art of crafting a proper jury charge — a key ingredient in any successful verdict, they say.