I was a civil trial lawyer for 45+ years (retired now). I couldn't disagree with your statement more. 1. In 99% of civil trials there was an opportunity for bo

I was a civil trial lawyer for 45+ years (retired now). I couldn't disagree with your statement more. 1. In 99% of civil trials there was an opportunity for both lawyers to settle, but they decided their client would do better at trial. In every one of those trials, one of the lawyers was horribly wrong. That's the life of every trial lawyer. 2. The job of a trial lawyer is not "to be convincing without necessarily being right." The job of a trial lawyer is knowing which cases to try and which cases to settle. 3. Top trial lawyers know in advance when they have a winning case and when they have a losing case. And they don't try a losing case. They settle. Because the bottom line is: you try a losing case against me? I promise you the outcome. You are going to lose. Nobody tries a losing case against a top trial lawyer and wins. After I got my feet wet with several hundred non-jury small claims property damage cases, I then tried just under 75 jury trials and chancery cases. There is only one case that I lost (interesting story for another day). Not because I was Perry Mason. But because I was very good at knowing which cases to try and which to settle.