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Month: June 2010

The”this is the first time it has happened”defense

The”this is the first time it has happened”defense

I subscribe to a little meditation pamphlet that has daily readings with Scripture quotes. This reading struck me as having application to the situation where the defendant argues they have had no previous problems. It could be a defective product where they claim no previous injuries or a street intersection or any other situation where the defense says how could it be negligence or all that bad because we haven’t had this happen before. Here’s the story in the pamphlet: "A…

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What they don’t teach you in law school about trial

What they don’t teach you in law school about trial

We are taught a lot of subjects in law school. There are even classes on the trial of lawsuits. But there are some very fundamental rules everyone must learn if they are going to be successful trial lawyers. RULE NO 1: TO BE A GREAT TRIAL LAWYER REQUIRES HARD WORK, DETERMINATION AND COURAGE If you want to be a truly great trial lawyer you must be willing to: (1) sacrifice for the good of other people (2) be determined in…

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Orders in limine regarding prejudicial issues

Orders in limine regarding prejudicial issues

A very good trial lawyer recently asked other plaintiff lawyers about an issue that I think is worth talking about. His client was on a motorcycle and the defendant admitted liability His inquiry was about asking for a pre tial  order that would say "the defendants and their counsel are ordered not to testify, present evidence, argue, or imply that plaintiff has any fault in this matter, or that plaintiffs’ damages should be less because plaintiff was injured while on a motorcycle"…

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