This morning brought the sad news that renowned trial lawyer Stephen Susman has passed away from the novel coronavirus. He was 79.
Steve was widely known for his remarkable trial skills, and as a founder of the Houston litigation firm Susman Godfrey. But his professional energy and interests extended far beyond the courtroom. He was deeply active in efforts to improve the civil justice system and to preserve the civil jury trial. A few years ago, he founded the Civil Jury Project at NYU Law School for that express purpose, bringing together lawyers, judges, jurors, and scholars to study and advocate for the importance of civil juries.
I first met Steve about ten years ago, at the Duke Conference of the federal Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. As judges and lawyers struggled to determine the best way to rein in discovery costs, Steve pointed out how much can be done when opposing counsel simply act like adults and professionals. As proof, he submitted a two-page checklist of discovery agreements that he claimed to use in every case. It was a straightforward and sensible list, agreed to by counsel in advance, covering issues like the order of depositions and the labeling of exhibits — the type of things that would naturally keep discovery within reasonable limits and avoid pointless cost to the client. My favorite item remains the very first on the list:
As to any discovery dispute, the lead lawyers will try to resolve [it] by phone and no one will write letters to the other, including letters attached as pdf’s to emails and phone calls.
The entire checklist was so simple, and yet so brilliant, that I immediately sought permission to share it with my law students. (Steve graciously granted that permission in short order.) I still assign the checklist to my law students as a paradigm example of how a lawyer can simultaneously be a zealous advocate of his client and a responsible officer of the court.
About three years ago, Steve asked me to join the Civil Jury Project as an academic advisor, an invitation for which I was both honored and grateful. It was a pleasure to see him in action, with his relentless energy and good cheer, as he brought together jurors and lawyers at “jury improvement luncheons” across the country, and held programs for scholars to share their insights into the jury system.
Our thoughts are with Steve’s family today. His passing is a profound loss for the entire legal community.
The Interdependent Third Branch 