Trial Lawyer in Training

Reports to: Senior Partner, Zinda Law Group 
Compensation: $150,000 base + performance bonuses 
Location: Austin, TX (in-office/hybrid; trial travel expected) 

Mission 

This is not a job — it’s a transformation. 
The Zinda Trial Lawyer in Training program is a two-year immersion designed to turn a sharp, driven litigator into a top-tier trial lawyer. You’ll train side by side with a Senior Partner who has tried and won major cases, gaining the skills, judgment, and confidence of a 10-year lawyer in two years. 

This is the Navy SEAL equivalent of trial work — high intensity, high accountability, and high reward. It’s hard, deliberate, and built to accelerate your career faster than any traditional path. If you’re wired for excellence and can perform under pressure, this is where you’ll thrive. 

 

Our Core Principles 

1. Own the Outcome – You are accountable for results, not activity.
   
2. Relentless Improvement – Seek feedback, refine constantly, and raise your own bar.
   
3. Client First, Always – Empathy and communication matter as much as strategy.
   
4. One Team, One Fight – We win together, and we hold each other to elite standards.
   
5. Extreme Preparation – Trials are won in the prep room, not the courtroom.
   
6. Courage Under Fire – You don’t fold under pressure—you perform.
   

 

The Work 

You’ll handle complex, high-value cases alongside a senior trial lawyer. 
Your days will mix deep legal analysis, strategic execution, and on-your-feet advocacy. 

• Participate in every phase of major cases—investigation to verdict.
  
• Draft and argue key motions; take and defend depositions.
  
• Build trial strategy and develop compelling damages
  
• Prepare witnesses, experts, and clients for trial.
  
• Train under direct feedback loops and real trial conditions.
  

This is full-immersion training in the art and science of high-stakes litigation. 

 

What Success Looks Like 

Year One 

You’ll master execution. 
You’ll learn how to manage large, complex cases, take ownership of real components of trial prep, and perform in depositions, hearings, and strategy sessions. You’ll begin second-chairing large cases and handling case management, motion practice, and client communication. 

By the end of Year One, you’ll be a trusted right-hand lawyer—someone the team can rely on when the pressure’s high and the stakes are real. 

Year Two 

You’ll evolve into leadership. 
You’ll mentor a new Trial Lawyer in Training and pass down your processes. You’ll start building your own docket, originating cases, and learning how to run your practice within the firm’s ecosystem. 

By the end of Year Two, you’ll be ready to command the courtroom and build a career around it—with full confidence, full autonomy, and full financial upside.  

When you start your docket if you’ve performed well you will start working on complex cases, that have very high financial upside.  We have had   

 

The Challenge 

Expect 45–55 hours a week on average and 60–80 during trial periods. 
You’ll be pushed, coached, and held accountable every single day. 
You’ll fail, recover, and get better fast. 

But if you commit, you’ll emerge not just as a stronger lawyer—but as one of the rare few who can stand up in front of a jury and own the room. 

 

The Reward 

• Acceleration: Compress a decade of experience into two years.
  
• Earning Power: Substantial bonuses and long-term origination potential.
  
• Mentorship: Direct access to senior partners who’ve tried and won tough cases.
  
• Training: advanced CLEs, and personalized performance coaching.
  
• Culture: High standards, zero politics, full support.
  

 

Who You Are 

• 2+ years of litigation experience (plaintiff or defense).
  
• Competitive, curious, and mission-driven.
  
• Thrives under pressure and wants responsibility early.
  
• Smart, articulate, and emotionally intelligent.
  
• Barred or eligible to waive into TX, AZ, CO, or NM.
  

 

 Please submit a cover letter and include a paragraph about why you'd like to be a part of our firm