White Collar Titan Reid Weingarten on Juries Clients and the Scariest Federal Prosecutor... Page 4 of 5 lf | think there’s a real likelinood there’s going to be a trial, I'll make a file for opening, a file for closing, a file for putting the client on, and I'll make a cross-examination file for the snitch or snitches. If I’m taking a walk or kayaking in the North Atlantic or sleeping and have a thought, |’ll throw notes in there. Two days before the opening, I'll go through the notes. ’ll have it largely in my head. | used to have a chocolate Lab |’d walk in the woods behind my house. I’d talk to myself, and |’d talk to Emma the chocolate Lab, and we’d try things and l’d practice my opening with her, but only with her. The notes | toss in those files end up being what | do in court. LD: You’ve been described as “almost constitutionally incapable of settling a case.” Do you think that’s true? RW: No. I’ve had a lot of trials, but the great majority of my advocacy is done in prosecutors’ offices. I'll say one or two things. One is that ‘this is not a righteous case, and here’s why,’ and/or ‘If you bring it, I'll kick your ass.’ | find sometimes No. 2 is more effective, especially if it’s a high-profile matter. In that sense, the case doesn’t go to trial. But Jesse Jackson Jr., for example, pleaded guilty and went to prison for couple of years. | didn’t do it because | am a snitch lawyer or because I’m a rollover guy. | did it because the evidence was overwhelming, and there was no choice about it, and it was in his interest. And of course it was what he wanted to do. | settle cases. But the people who come to me generally are people who have thought through the issues and decided there’s a real chance of a scrap, and someone recommends me. Those are the people with whom | have the initial conversation, not people who are looking for an old-timer who routinely gets the best deals. Those are not the people who come to me. LD: How do you handle losses? RW: Do |