Closing Argument: Opportunity and Challenge
Navigating Civil Standing Requirements for Defense Success — RICO Report Podcast
How to Make Clear, Quick and Effective Objections
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 43 - New Horizons: Impact of Recent Appellate Circuit Rulings on White-Collar Criminal Defense Law
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Ask One Question Too Many
Podcast - The Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination
False Claims Act Insights - If Everything Matters, Nothing Does: Parsing Materiality in FCA Disputes
Making the Lawyer-Client Relationship Work in Challenging Litigation – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 42 - AI in Criminal Justice: Opportunity or Opportunity for Misuse?
Podcast - Refresh vs. Impeach: Know the Difference
Podcast - Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses
Cross-Examination: The Three C’s of Impeachment
Cross-Examination: How to Effectively Impeach with a Prior Inconsistent Statement
Cross-Examination: Asking the Right Leading Questions
Podcast - Cross-Examination: The Importance of Organization
Work This Way: A Labor & Employment Law Podcast - Episode 20: Tips for Court Cases with Judge Dennis and Judge Wilkins of Maynard Nexsen
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Basic Approaches
Residential Contractor Boot Camp
The "Why" of Cross-Examination
False Claims Act Insights - Railroaded! How to Approach the Twin Tracks of Parallel Proceedings
Law students spend years training to evaluate details and learn procedures that don’t always fall under the umbrella of common sense to laypersons. The most important issues that seem obvious to attorneys can be ignored by...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small describes different approaches to opening statements in a trial, outlining three common styles: dramatic, theme-oriented and...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small discusses why demonstrative aids are critical in every case. Mr. Small shares why he believes simple demonstratives, when...more
Our podcast guests IMS Senior Jury Consulting Advisor Dr. Jill Leibold and Senior Jury Consultant Dr. Nick Polavin share their newest safetyism research and how safetyist beliefs are driving high plaintiff verdicts—especially...more
As a national trial consulting firm, we are often asked to assist with jury selection in jurisdictions where lead counsel has been admitted pro hac vice and may not be closely familiar with the standards and procedures for...more
Recent years’ events have inspired experiential and attitudinal changes among jurors across the board. The 2016 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic fostered a shift in attitudes about corporations, governmental...more
As most litigators know, jurors’ attitudes and opinions often influence how they filter the facts of a case. It is through these lenses that jurors develop their perceptions of the parties and their corresponding motives,...more
Over the years, we have heard much consternation from our clients regarding a plaintiff strategy called the “Reptile Approach.” We have seen this approach become more and more popular—not to mention effective—during...more
We have all shared this experience. Jury selection is at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. It is now Sunday night and the national trial team—led by an attorney from out of town—is convening to discuss voir dire and jury selection. A jury...more
Data compiled by the American Transportation Research Institute shows that lawsuits targeting the trucking industry have increased at an exponential pace, seen in both the volume of cases and the size of verdict awards. When...more
There are a number of scenarios where race might matter to your case. Most obviously in the civil realm, these could be employment cases, police use of force cases, or claims involving unequal medical care or testing. In any...more
A seasoned trial lawyer stands in front of the jury, previews the critical argument, and then, making knowing eye contact with the jury, adds, “Now, you might be thinking…” before spelling out and then responding to a key...more
SAN DIEGO (March 14, 2022) – The inaugural Nuclear Verdicts Defense Institute will take place June 23-26, 2022, in San Diego, led by an esteemed faculty of legal defense experts, including top trial attorneys, a specialist in...more
Imagine you’re currently a citizen of the Russian Federation. The telephone rings, and the person on the other end of the line identifies themselves as a public opinion researcher, and they’re conducting a poll. “How do you...more
When a juror looks at an act and declares it to be bad or good, where is that coming from? Well, hopefully, it is coming from the evidence. But inevitably, it is also coming from that juror’s own habits of moral judgment. And...more
The core of most determinations of negligence is the question, “What would a reasonable person have done?” And, at least in theory, this “reasonable person” isn’t supposed to be an actual person whose deeds are recorded in...more
The voir dire process has got to be one of the most complex, information-rich, and high-stakes communication settings. To someone unfamiliar with the rituals, it won’t always be clear what is going on or why. For new...more
Even as things are fitfully returning to a post-pandemic normal (perhaps against the current COVID Omicron variant-driven medical advice) one feature of the last 21 months seems to be lingering: the Zoom conference. In legal...more
How likely is it that a corporation’s competitor could come up with a parallel product without infringing a patent? How common is it for someone to get injured on an amusement park ride? How normal would it be for someone who...more
The setting of an in-court oral voir dire can be seen as a “perfect storm” of information. Data about your panel and your potential future fact-finders is coming at you from all directions. You may have responses from a...more
As you’re waiting your turn for voir dire, you notice that plaintiff’s counsel is getting a fair number of potential jurors to admit that they might have a bias — against lawsuits, against plaintiffs’ attorneys, against...more
I came across a recent article in the publication Raw Story with the intriguing title, “There’s a big problem in opinion polling that mainstream media is missing” by Matt Robison. While not an academic piece, the article does...more
At the voir dire stage of a jury trial, the word “bias” gets used a lot. But do we really know what it means? The courts, in practice at least, hew to a simple meaning: If a potential juror admits to bias, that means they...more
In my last post, I wrote about how the state of Arizona has been a leader in testing options for online trials. That same day, however, Arizona became the first state to eliminate peremptory strikes in criminal and civil...more
Arizona may not be the model when it comes to partisan post-election audits. But when it comes to online or virtual trials, the “Cyber Ninjas” in that context seem to be doing much better. In the Grand Canyon state’s most...more