Why Trial Lawyers Need More Than Courtroom Swagger ft. Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar

Real trial work starts long before anyone stands in front of a jury.

In this episode of Between the Briefs by Steno, Adrian Cea and Joe Stephens sit down with Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar, trial lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright, for a practical and candid conversation on high-stakes litigation, trial preparation, team leadership, client management, courtroom presence, and the future of associate development in the tricky age of AI.

What You'll Learn:

Why high-stakes trials are won through preparation, not courtroom performance
How Jerry learned trial skills in Big Law without endless trial opportunities
Why lawyers need to be ready for the moment a case goes sideways
How coaching travel baseball shaped Jerry’s approach to managing trial teams
Why team leaders need to understand people’s strengths, pressure points, and life context
Why AI can help lawyers become more efficient, but may also short-circuit development
How young lawyers can use AI creatively without outsourcing judgment
Why courtroom style has to be honest, truthful, and authentic
What Jerry looks for before taking on a new client
Why trial law is much more grind than glamour
Why associate development may be one of the biggest law firm challenges of the next few decades

The big question you’ll have at the end of this episode is: “Was the lawyer grind actually helpful all this time?”

Highlights:

00:00 Introduction
01:07 Meet Gerardo “Jerry” Alcazar
01:21 From Milwaukee’s South Side to Trial Law
02:36 How Big Law Lawyers Learn Trial Skills Without Many Trials
02:51 Why War Stories Are Essentially Trial Lawyer Training
04:30 What Real Trial Prep Looks Like
04:45 The Trial Prep Rule: Everybody Needs to Know Everything
05:52 Why Trials Go Sideways and How Lawyers Survive It
06:17 The Courtroom Skill Nobody Talks About: Staying Calm
08:04 How Jerry Delegates Work on High-Stakes Cases
08:23 What Coaching Baseball Taught Jerry About Managing Lawyers
11:23 Why Soft Skills Matter Under Trial Pressure
12:20 How Jerry Spots the Right People for the Right Case
15:45 What AI Is Changing About Junior Lawyer Development
16:18 The Problem With AI Giving Associates “Great-Sounding” Answers
17:51 Can AI Skills Actually Transfer Into the Courtroom?
18:23 How Jerry Wants Young Lawyers to Use AI Creatively
22:45 Is AI Short-Circuiting the Lawyer Grind?
23:33 The Missing Experience Young Lawyers May Not Get Back
26:25 How Jerry Describes His Courtroom Style
26:42 Why Jurors Can Spot a Fake Courtroom Persona
29:30 Jerry’s Pet Peeves With Opposing Counsel
29:55 Why Litigation Is a Combat Sport, Not a Personal Attack
32:14 The Client Questions That Matter Before Taking a Case
32:37 Why Clients Need to Be Accessible, Realistic, and Engaged
35:29 The Non-Legal Jobs That Built Jerry’s Trial Instincts
35:58 What Chicken Farms, Scrap Yards, and Hard Work Taught Him
38:25 Why Trial Lawyers Need to Talk to Anyone in the Jury Box
40:16 What Movies Get Wrong About Trial Lawyers
40:37 Trial Law Is a Grind, Not a Performance Reel
43:30 Jerry’s Hot Take on the Legal Industry
43:40 AI May Break the Old Associate Training Model
46:34 Closing Thoughts

Quotes:

“The expectation is that something will go sideways, and you’ve got to be ready to deal with it.”
“Everybody’s got to know what the plan is, what the approach is, what the themes are.”
“You’ve got to make people feel something.”
“The successful law firms that continue to grow into the next two, three decades are the ones that have figured out associate development in the age of AI.”