The King's Speech - A Trial Lawyer's Stutter
By Dave Walton
The King’s Speech just won the Academy Award for Best Picture. People are now interested in the story about King George VI who had a speech impediment (a stutter) and his fight to overcome his stutter and lead Great Britain during World War II. This story hits home for me because I stutter. My father, my brother both stutter too. No one has been able to tell us why we do it or really how we even fix it.
Although I have mostly been able to reduce my stuttering, I still stutter. After college, I tried to get several sales jobs and was told I shouldn’t be involved in sales because of my stutter. When I told my family and friends I was going to law school, many of them raised their eyebrows. Most assumed I would not do trial work.
In law school, during my first mock appellate argument, I remember being exhausted and I stuttered a lot more than normal. The lawyer serving as the mock judge started crying in the middle of my argument. Not a good sign since appellate advoc
acy rarely evokes such emotion from the Bench. I wondered if my argument was so poor that I brought her to tears. Turns out, she felt bad for me. After this, I spoke to my professor about my oral argument. He set me straight. My professor said my stutter will be an advantage and a jury will listen more closely to me. He explained that my stutter will help me connect with a jury. He was right.
Like a lot of lawyers in large firms, I wanted trial experience, but the opportunities were rare. A number of years ago, I was lucky enough to get the chance. I tried a lengthy jury trial and have tried many since. After the trial, a group of jury members walked over to me. I didn’t know what to expect and was a little nervous. One juror told me that they really respected me because they knew that I had a stutter. They stressed that my stutter was minor but that they noticed it and that they talked about it. The jurors said they admired my courage in being a trial lawyer. I was surprised and a little embarrassed by the jurors’ comments. My first thought was, I don’t remember stuttering that much. As the jurors walked away from me, I realized that I had something that was natural and genuine. It was an epiphany – my stutter was a great gift.
This might be a feel-good story, but what does it mean for you? I am not suggesting that you should develop a stutter as a form of jury persuasion. If you do anything fake or insincere the jury will see through it. Never underestimate a jury’s power of perception. They “see” everything. Be yourself. Everything about you and your personal style can be a strength. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t identify your weaknesses and work on them – but don’t obsess about them. Instead, develop an unshakable strong belief in yourself.
I wouldn’t change a thing about my stutter. It has made me tough; it has taught me how to fight through adversity. Yet, everyone who is reading has something in their life like stuttering that they’ve had to overcome. The key is to use those experiences as strengths in a courtroom and provide the confidence to be yourself. So if you’re like me and you’re not a silver-tongued lawyer, just know it doesn’t matter. It does not matter one iota.
By the way, the jury did return a verdict in favor of my client in the case. At the time, it was the largest trade-secret verdict in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Comment From the Sidebar
If you are interested in listening to King George's broadcast speech to the British Empire at the outbreak of war with Germany on September 3, 1939 click the link below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/ww2outbreak/7918.shtml
Photograph of King George VI http://historical.ws/king_george_vi.htm
Comments (18)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endTom - March 3, 2011 4:30 PM
Do you think there are ways that King George's stutter may have been a gift? I don't imagine it would help to much with ruling people. But as far as helping people empathize this may just be the new form of having a silver tongue. Being genuine that is.
Marsha Hunter - March 3, 2011 5:43 PM
Thank you for writing this post, Dave. I'm going to reference you in my teaching from now on. Lawyers often ask privately about such personal attributes, one that they worry will prevent them from having the career they desire. This gives deeper meaning to the advice we try to give in lawyer training: know your strengths, and be yourself.
Jaimie Field - March 4, 2011 11:25 AM
Dave, thanks for your courage in writing about your stutter.
"Be yourself. Everything about you and your personal style can be a strength. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t identify your weaknesses and work on them – but don’t obsess about them. Instead, develop an unshakable strong belief in yourself."
Thank you for so eloquently articulating what I teach my clients each and every day!
Thank you Hayes for posting it as well.
Bernadette Laughlin - March 4, 2011 11:37 AM
As a speech-language pathologist and a lawyer who works to help schools provide services to children with disabilities, I found this story extremely compelling. I am sharing it with my colleagues. Thanks for the reminder that a perceived disability is often a gift.
Garret Murai - March 4, 2011 1:23 PM
I too, am in litigation, and had a stuttering problem when I was younger. I remember vividly how frustrating it was to know what I wanted to say yet being unable to convey those thoughts into words. As a result, I became very introverted, not wanting to talk to anyone out of fear that they might think I was mentally disabled. Fortunately, I had a wonderful speech pathologist, and I remember her telling me, "It's not that you're not smart, it's that you're so smart, that your mouth can't keep up with what you're thinking." I know now that she was just making feel better but at the time it meant the world to me. Wonderful post. Thank you
Joseph McGinley - March 4, 2011 2:10 PM
Dave,
I am an experienced trial lawyer. I think your story is inspiring and is a great example of fighting through adversity and persevering. Obviously your talent and courage are more than enough. Props to your professor for having the vision and insight to encourage you to stay in trial work. Best, Joe McGinley
Meghan Nicholson - March 4, 2011 10:38 PM
Inspiring story Uncle Dave! I hope one day I have the same unshakable belief in myself in front of a jury as you do!
andrea - March 5, 2011 9:24 AM
i too have a mild speech impediment, and your post is inspirational. Thanks for sharing and lets hope that other can turn their afflictions of any kid into a gift.
Ethel Hofman - March 6, 2011 9:24 AM
talk about making lemonade from lemons. I have a friend who is a stutterer and although she seems able to live with it, for me - I hold my breath until she finishes the sentence.
King's Speech is inspiring for all of us.
A sidenote - as a very young child, I remember that King George and Queen Elizabeth refused to leave London during the World War II Blitz - in fact they went down each day to the bombed areas to talk with those who were wounded and had lost their homes.
Best regards/Ethel
Jon - March 6, 2011 11:13 PM
Cicero, of all people, had a stutter.
John D - March 7, 2011 8:53 AM
Thanks so much for sharing your story.
I spent a little more than 10 years working as a reporter at various
newspapers before I decided to go to law school. As a reporter, I felt
both the burden and the benefit of being a stutterer: It can be
incredibly intimidating to ask a question in a crowded press conference,
yet having a stutter helped me get people to talk, exposing a
vulnerability on my part that seemed to make them more willing to
engage.
Now half way through my 1L year, the fact that I stutter has been
constantly in the back of my mind as I consider my career choices. I am
most drawn to criminal law, which inevitably means a great deal of oral
argument. While I decided long ago not to let my stuttering dictate my
choices in life, that resolve has been tested as I've considered my
future. Your story has reenforced my conviction to pursue the path I
want, not the path that seems easiest..
Again, thanks for sharing your story
Edward Neufville - March 7, 2011 11:37 PM
Thanks for the great article. More importantly Dave is that your client or clients trusted and believed in you and your skills.
The more positive exposure about stuttering, the better. I am an immigration litigation attorney and have had a moderate to severe stutter all my life. I have accepted my stutter and have experienced a decrease in the struggles that I have when I stutter. Thanks for being a positive role model! Good job!
John - March 11, 2011 5:34 PM
Great story. I am also a stuttering attorney. Probably a "covert" stutterer, since I substitute words so often and do other things to hide it. I went into transactional law as a way to make it less of an issue, and have never been to court, but obviously the conference calls and oral presentations present a lot of challenges. Your story, and the other comments above, tell me that I am not alone and inspires me to keep the fight. Thanks with all sincerity.
G. Wendell Spivey - March 11, 2011 6:49 PM
I am also an attorney who stutter. I began stuttering as a child after "mocking" my brother who stuttered. All through school i tried to avoid talking unless absolutely necessary, and would pretend that i did not know the material when asked to respond in class, although i did very well on written tests.
After law school, i knew i had to do something to improve on my speech, or be in control my stuttering. I read everything i could on the subject and saw several speech therapies, tried hypnosis. Finally, i learned about a guy name Dr. Webster at Hollins College in Roanoke Virginia. It was, without a doubt, the very best therapy i had ever had and was the turning point in my stuttering. I finally learned what caused me to sutter and how to control my speech, and it was a god send. I highly recommend Hollis College to anyone who stutter.
I was impressed by your story and it really gave me confidence in my speech and in myself. Thank You.
Hayes Hunt - March 14, 2011 12:42 PM
From the Sidebar,
I wanted to thank you for your inspirational comment. Means a lot to Dave and I.
Yours with gratitude,
Hayes
Vik Avandi - April 1, 2011 1:54 PM
I loved this article and its simple message: Being yourself forces you to be genuine.
Ann Greeley - May 24, 2011 10:44 AM
Dave--wonderful article. I witnessed your confidence and persuasiveness at that trial, and you were indeed an inspiration and "Brilliant" as the Brits would say. Thanks Hayes for turning me on to your blog and posting this great article!
Akyaa - May 30, 2011 1:28 PM
Interesting piece
I too I'm a stutterer. I'm really concerned about my condition. I graduated from college in 2010 and I'm a national service personnel at a bank ( a requirement for all graduates in my country to render their service at an institution). My concern now is securing a permanent job after my service, the last interview i attended was a total disaster as i could not voice out my thoughts.
At my current place of work, i interact with clients and at times my stuttering gets the better part of me, although i'm embarrassed about stuttering, i push myself out of my comfort zone and try to face my fears squarely. My dad too stutters and he rose to the highest ranks in the company he worked for, so i'm convinced i too can be an achiever.
It is stories like yours that inspire us (stutterers) to rise to greater heights. I always say to myself that non-stutterers have an advantage over us because they are able to express themselves, thus it is incumbent on us to create a niche for ourselves in our various career paths.
Kudos to you.