Don’t Let Damages Damage Your Case
Determining damages awards makes jurors nervous. And why shouldn’t it? Most jurors don’t come equipped with business or economics degrees. Even if they do, calculating nebulous subjects such as...
View ArticleScience Turns Jurors Into Believers
We’ve long been proponents of introducing science and data into your trial presentation whenever possible to enhance your case’s credibility. This is particularly important when you need to counter an...
View ArticleMillennials – Courtroom Wild Cards
As presidential hopefuls begin to launch their campaigns, we are reminded of the striking bipartisan gap in generational political beliefs. According to an in-depth study by Pew Research, Millennials...
View ArticleThe Video Advantage
We’ve all seen them on TV: the bumbling, nervous, inarticulate spokespeople who make you not only question the content of their statements, but also the competence of the outfit that hired them. We’ve...
View ArticleThe Stickiness in Solidarity
We’ve all been there when deciding to go to a group dinner: one person wants burgers, one person wants tacos and someone else is on a diet. Choosing a restaurant that all 10 friends can agree on seems...
View ArticleOvercoming Sci-Fi Expectations
We’ve written frequently about jurors’ elevated, unrealistic expectations for healthcare and medicine, but one area where we’ve seen this phenomenon rear its ugly head the most is related to hospital...
View ArticleFirst Impressions Last
We’ve all been in the poor position of making a bad first impression, then spending hours or even years trying to dig ourselves out of that hole. Recent research in an article from Forbes has...
View ArticleWhy Venue Matters
There are obviously many factors that go into evaluating a case and deciding whether to settle, battle it out at mediation, or go to trial – and how to identify and present the strongest arguments –...
View ArticleFiling a Lawsuit Is Easy As Pie
It seems to surprise many Americans that running for president or any elected office is as easy as filing a form and meeting some minimal age and citizenship qualifications. But that’s at least part...
View ArticleFollow the Leader
Among the lawyers we work with, and also on our own team, we have observed some ironclad “rules” for jury selection. When it comes to cases where we are working for the defense, we always try to...
View ArticleCollective Memory Can Be Collective Mess
Generation X received a shock recently when they realized that the Berenstain of the Berenstain Bears – purveyors of life lessons including healthy eating, sharing and stranger danger – is spelled with...
View ArticleDon’t Let The Reptile Slither Into Your Trial
The Reptile Theory has been all the rage among the plaintiffs’ bar for the past several years, and you have no doubt encountered a practitioner of this theory slithering his way around a courtroom. The...
View ArticleEvaluating Your Argument Roster
During the past week, millions of Americans have started their Fantasy Football leagues. If you’ve never played, it involves creating a mock football team composed of NFL players. Players acquire...
View ArticleRookie Expert Witnesses Can Be Worth the Risk
The start of the NFL season brings with it a crop of new rookies, bright-eyed and eager to make an impact. As any coach, pundit or fantasy football player knows, which rookies are going to turn into...
View ArticleAt Trial, More’s Not Always Better
If you’ve been following the news recently, you’re probably aware there are currently 15 candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination. An ongoing debate has questioned whether 15 is...
View ArticleGet to Know Your Jurisdiction
We have long believed learning as much as possible about your trial jurisdiction is an important but often overlooked part of the trial preparation process. This may seem obvious if the jurisdiction...
View ArticleWith Witnesses, Focus on the Big Picture First
We’ve found that when prepping a witness for trial or deposition, many attorneys jump right into the medical records, corporate documents, employment files or other minutiae.It’s understandable,...
View ArticleCrafting an Effective Story
This holiday movie season brings with it some of our favorite franchise stories and characters of all time. Batman faces off against Superman to protect the world in Dawn of Justice. Katniss Everdeen...
View ArticleMake A Point Everyone Understands
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it’s only effective if it uses the right words. As we have said before in this space, visual aids can be a key way to communicate information at trial....
View ArticleLow Income Could Mean High Awards
One of the major hot-button issues during this year’s presidential race is the perceived vast income inequality in the U.S. Bernie Sanders’ platform is in large part based on his socialist ideals,...
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