At last week’s Presidential debate, incumbent Joe Biden performed about as poorly as the worst predictions. In the panicked aftermath, calls have mounted for the 81-year-old President to gracefully exit his party’s nomination...more
I recently had the opportunity to serve as a judge for a legal advocacy program as part of my daughter’s high school constitutional law program. In watching the students answer the panel’s questions, I noticed something I...more
We have all used them. It might be a repeated word or phrase like, “I would say,” “it seems to me that,” or “like.” It might be a repeated sound like “uh,” “um,” “ah,” or “er.” Not all of the speech is content; some of it is...more
The habit of sort of just filling in your speech with expressions of uncertainty, when you’re not really that uncertain, is probably a bad habit. I mean, I am fairly sure that these hedges cut down on your perceived...more
1/9/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Closing Arguments ,
Credibility ,
Cross Examination ,
Defense Strategies ,
Eyewitness Testimony ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Opening Statements ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Young Lawyers
There is one habit of attorneys that promotes precision in analytical thinking, but often interferes with the ability to clearly communicate with the audience. That habit is the tendency to divide points into sub-points, and...more
Since it’s Halloween, let’s consider a frightful topic. Experienced trial lawyers usually get past their stage fright early on, and even come to relish the idea of standing in front of a jury, or most any audience. But...more
10/31/2019
/ Bench Trial ,
Defense Strategies ,
Jury Trial ,
Law Students ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Professional Development ,
Stress Reduction ,
Trial Attorneys ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Work-Induced Stress ,
Young Lawyers
When you are working on boiling down your message, there will often be that indefinable “something” that makes you recognize when you have the right language. A good trial theme, for example, doesn’t just summarize the...more
On one end of the spectrum, there are specific beliefs jurors might hold on an issue. More generally, then there are attitudes that cover and predict many of those different beliefs. Even more generally, there is the...more
Trial lawyers understand the need to refine and to help fit the main point of their case into the smallest possible container. In complex litigation, however, that quest for a bottom line can be elusive. You might have your...more
9/10/2019
/ Bench Trial ,
Contributory Negligence ,
Defense Strategies ,
Discovery ,
Evidence ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Professional Liability ,
Standard of Care ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Young Lawyers
Medical practitioners know that, for all its wonders, modern medicine is still a matter of chances not guarantees. In other words, in practice, medical interventions are often a matter of improving the patient’s chances at...more
In Part One of this two-part post, I discussed the remarkable success of the “TED Talk” formula in repopularizing the idea of a single-speaker, large-audience presentation. I noted that the format is worth looking at for...more
In a fast-paced technological age, it is refreshing that the simple act of a person giving a speech still has some legs. The “TED Talk” formula of an 18-minute presentation continues to be popular, with more than 2,500...more
In the days leading up to trial, you wrestle with the task of creating an opening statement in a complex case. Of course, you remember the core advice from your very first trial advocacy class, but the sheer complexity at...more
These days we’re pretty used to digital displays. What we once did with a marking pen, or later with a computer and printer, can now be displayed more easily, and often more impressively, on a screen. All of us are used to...more
Lawyers tend to think of opening statement as the time for stories. But I think you’re telling a story in closing argument as well: not the same story, but a different one. And I don’t mean you should change the facts or...more
Nearly 40 years ago, in 1979, during the country’s energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter gave what is now called the “Malaise Speech.” Without using that word, he spoke of “a crisis of confidence” that “strikes at the very...more
So you have worked up your case for trial and, now the question is, what is the best way to convert all of that factual detail and law into comprehension and persuasion? The answer you’ve probably heard since your first trial...more
Unlike many other moments in trial, the opening statement is often defined in terms of what it isn’t. It isn’t evidence, and it isn’t argument. So, what is it? It is a preview of what the evidence will be. That creates a...more
Whenever I am running a mock trial and playing the role of the judge, I read the instructions out loud to the mock jurors while they also read along using their own paper copies. I sometimes think that is overkill: If it were...more
We know that when presenting to jurors, the goal is not just to present, but to engage, to relate, to adapt, and ultimately to persuade. You don’t want to simply lay information in front of jurors and hope they will pick it...more
1/29/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Closing Arguments ,
Defense Strategies ,
Evidence ,
Juror ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Opening Statements ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Young Lawyers
Across the country, police departments are moving toward greater use of individual officer body cams. The small, lightweight cameras are used to record police encounters from the officer’s perspective and can become evidence....more
“Epistimology,” or the question of how we know what we know, seems like an abstract rather than a practical idea. But when it comes to the practical task of assessing and persuading jurors, the epistemological habits of those...more
1/22/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Closing Arguments ,
Cross Examination ,
Defense Strategies ,
Juror ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Opening Statements ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Voir Dire ,
Young Lawyers
The Reptile approach to trying plaintiffs’ cases has been around for a decade. It is now expected that many of those seeking damages in products, medical liability, and other personal injury cases, will use a persuasive...more
So the case is complex. Maybe it involves a tricky multi-stage legal question. Or maybe it requires understanding some arcane point on patents. Or perhaps it requires grappling with the workings of an unfamiliar technology....more
Experts have a tough job translating sometimes technical detail to lay audiences and working closely with a party to the litigation while still maintaining the role of “teacher” rather than “advocate.” Some excellent and...more
11/2/2018
/ Defense Strategies ,
Expert Witness ,
Judges ,
Juror ,
Jury Trial ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Reconstruction ,
Trial Plan ,
Trial Practice Guidance ,
Trial Preparation ,
Young Lawyers