worries that the economic incentives can sometimes reduce litigation to a transactional business model rather than one built around trial advocacy.
“ A lot of lawyers aren’ t equipped to try cases because everything becomes transactional,” Papantonio said.“ The goal becomes bringing in as many cases as possible, bundling them together, and negotiating numbers. That’ s not trial law. That’ s a transaction. And when that’ s the model, there isn’ t much need to develop trial skills.”
For firms committed to representing injured consumers against major corporations, he argues, that shift carries significant consequences.
“ The people on the other side don’ t understand compromise. They understand getting beaten in front of a jury,” he said.“ Nothing significant happens without trial lawyers who are willing and able to move the ball when the defense refuses to do the right thing.”
TECHNOLOGY IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR TRIAL SKILLS
Artificial intelligence, litigation software, and sophisticated courtroom technology have transformed nearly every aspect of modern practice. Medical chronologies can be generated in minutes. Discovery can be searched instantly. Trial graphics are more sophisticated than ever.
Papantonio embraces those advances— but only as tools. He argues that technology has value only when it supports the underlying skills of persuasion.
“ The best training is still being able to walk into a courtroom with nothing but your file and your ability to communicate,” he said.“ If you can’ t do that, all the bells and whistles mean nothing.”
In other words, technology may change how lawyers present evidence, but it cannot replace the ability to earn a jury’ s trust.
GREAT TRIAL LAWYERS ARE GREAT STORYTELLERS
If Papantonio identifies one characteristic shared by exceptional trial lawyers, it’ s not intelligence or charisma. It’ s storytelling.
He points to legendary trial lawyer Perry Nichols, who once showed him shelves lined with works by Kafka, Fitzgerald, Conrad, Steinbeck, and other classic authors. The lesson stayed with him.“ The best trial lawyers are storytellers,” Papantonio said.“ You don’ t just wake up one day with a creative brain. Either you’ ve developed broad life experience, or you’ ve exposed yourself to great thinkers. Reading great literature teaches you how people struggle, how they hope, how they fail, and why those stories matter. That’ s what connects with a jury.”
For Papantonio, the courtroom is ultimately about people rather than procedure. Jurors are not persuaded by technology or legal jargon alone. They respond to authentic human stories supported by compelling evidence.
" If you ' ve got five young associates who ' ve never been to trial, your law firm is in trouble." – Mike Papantonio
REBUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION
Despite his concerns, Papantonio does not believe the decline is inevitable. He believes firms can reverse the trend, but only if they intentionally create opportunities for younger lawyers to develop trial experience.
“ If you’ ve got five young associates who’ ve never been to trial, your law firm is in trouble,” he said.“ Give them a file. Let them walk across the street and try a one-day case. That’ s how they learn. The repetition is what matters. Every firm ought to make that a priority.”
He places the responsibility squarely on firm leadership. Training trial lawyers, he argues, cannot be left to chance. It requires partners willing to invest time, accept short-term inefficiencies, and trust younger attorneys with meaningful courtroom responsibility.
Papantonio also praised efforts outside individual firms that continue to prioritize trial advocacy, pointing specifically to programs led by Mark Lanier and educational initiatives offered through Mass Torts Made Perfect.
“ I’ m very proud of what Mark Lanier is doing,” Papantonio said.“ He’ s trying to hold onto that tradition. We do the same thing at MTMP with our trial programs because this matters.”
WHAT’ S REALLY AT STAKE
Ultimately, Papantonio believes the conversation extends well beyond the legal profession. If lawyers stop trying cases, he fears the jury system itself could gradually become marginalized.
“ If this trend continues, we’ ll simply become a system that no longer requires juries,” he said.“ What makes America unique is that we’ ve entrusted ordinary citizens to hear evidence and decide cases. The less we use that system, the more likely it is to disappear.”
The decline in jury trials is often discussed in terms of efficiency, cost, or changing litigation practices. But viewed through Papantonio’ s lens, it raises a more fundamental question: What happens when a profession built on courtroom advocacy no longer produces enough courtroom advocates?
The answer will shape more than the careers of young lawyers. It may shape the future of the civil justice system itself.