The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Tell Your Story
Podcast - Getting Dressed for Court
Podcast - The Witness Outline
Cross-Examination: The Three C’s of Impeachment
Cross-Examination: How to Effectively Impeach with a Prior Inconsistent Statement
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Argue - Elicit Facts
Podcast - Direct Examination: Getting Rid of Clutter
The Basics of Opening Statements
Exuding Credibility in the Courtroom
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 233: Listen and Learn -- Impeachment (Part 2)
The Strategic Advantages of Working with Jury Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 56
Witness Testimony Themes, Cross Examination, & Preparation Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 55
Witness Prep Goals, Credibility Factors, & Juror Comprehension – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 54
Live Trials During the COVID-19 Pandemic: What’s Changed?
Protecting Trade Secrets When Facing Lawsuits or Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures
Podcast - Listen for the Song in Your Witness' Head
Podcast: What is a Deposition?
The "Compass Rose" Method for Corporate Witness Interviews
Podcast: Witness Preparation is Okay
Podcast: Bridging the Gap
Law firms are increasingly using technology to assist and optimize their litigation and trial processes, and this trend will almost certainly continue into the future. In particular, the use of external graphics technologies...more
Remote depositions took hold during COVID and continue to be common; one study conducted in 2021 found that while 87 percent of lawyers rarely or never participated in remote depositions before COVID, 83 percent expected to...more
Cross-examination is the stuff of drama in fictional courtroom depictions. The savvy lawyer taking on a hostile witness on the stand—these are the moments TV and movie audiences live for. However, the truth is real-life...more
Given how critical depositions are to the legal process, it stands to reason that fair deposition practices are paramount to a legal team’s success. However, several forms of unethical and unfair conduct can emerge during...more
It is common advice for witnesses in the courtroom or representatives at counsel table: keep a poker face. That advice — avoid scowls, grimaces, and other head-shaking reactions while you’re being observed by a jury — has...more
Three years of law school can teach us many things. But what they do not do very well—as we typically discover soon after graduating—is prepare us for the actual practice of law. For those of us who always planned to be...more
The blog post Turning Deposition No-Shows to the Client’s Advantage proved popular with our readers when written (2021!) and for years afterward. The sustained readership of that article is gratifying but also disappointing...more
First impressions are crucial—especially when you’re delivering an opening statement to a court of law, establishing and framing the crux of a case for judges and jurors when a trial begins. Clarity, conciseness, resonance,...more
Just what is it that wins a trial case? It’s not a simple matter of providing a bullet list of facts. The subject matter and fine points of evidence can be complex and difficult to follow, and the trial attorneys rarely have...more
When preparing for trial, depositions play a foundational role, critical to the discovery phase. After the deposition, having a succinct, accurate deposition summary is a strategic component of developing and refining case...more
In the courtroom, trial technology has emerged as a powerful tool for lawyers seeking to inform, engage, and persuade jurors. As attention spans grow shorter and jurors’ expectations for high-quality graphics increase, visual...more
Dismissal of a lawsuit is a rare sanction for a discovery violation, but it happened recently in a workplace discrimination lawsuit, due in large part to two probing depositions that called into question one party’s assertion...more
There is an adage that lawyers learn the version of the rules of evidence and procedure that are current when they are in law school and then do not look at them again. While that is (hopefully) an exaggeration, it is always...more
In popular culture, a trial often hinges on a single moment – an accidental admission of guilt or sudden epiphany from a budding lawyer. But when a matter heads to a final arbiter in the real world, a legal team will have...more
A civil jury trial is a risky proposition in any court, state or federal. To manage that risk, it is usually in each party’s interest to engage in some form of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR. Knowledge of the local...more
Opting for arbitration requires attorneys to balance efficiency and procedural protections. The implications of arbitration are something clients certainly have to carefully consider both when drafting arbitration provisions,...more
How do humans assess large sets of evidence? We start by simplifying and internally summarizing. One of the main ways we do that is to boil the information down to a limited number categories, usually two. For example, let’s...more
From a technological standpoint, it is now relatively simple to present live video and audio testimony during a court proceeding of a witness located anywhere in the world. There are many advantages to presenting testimony in...more
Doctors must educate themselves and particularly their staff on the legal obligations to protect the confidentiality of medical records and how to properly respond to subpoenas and requests for patients’ health information....more
With Labor Day right around the corner, the NFL is gearing up for the 2015 season. Fantasy football leagues are getting ready for another year of camaraderie, smack talk, and thoughts of a championship. Mention...more