Payne is generally smug and overconfident, but also easy to rattle, and tends to have trouble articulating his arguments clearly in court. He used to be more confident and arrogant prior to his run-in with Mia Fey, taking every opportunity to taunt her and her inexperience. He also had a full head of hair to complement his arrogant attitude. Despite his losses, he has retained an exaggerated sense of his own importance, claiming to have taught Wright everything he knows and offering advice to Edgeworth, despite the two younger men quite clearly being more competent than himself. In most trials he prosecutes, he usually starts strong and acts high and mighty, but quickly begins to panic once his case is broken down, to the point where the witnesses will start to defend themselves and ignore Payne completely.