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Month: August 2017

OPENING STATEMENTS THAT WORK

OPENING STATEMENTS THAT WORK

In spite of all of the writing and seminars on the subject of opening statements, too many trial lawyers maintain a wrong and overly simplistic view of this important step in the trial. Remember, the opening statement is the critical first impression with the jury about the case. Too many lawyers take the easy road of telling a chronological narrative is if it were a police report instead of a compelling emotional story. Opening statements are important. That’s when most jurors…

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HOW TO DEAL WITH PERSONAL ATTACKS & NEGATIVE ISSUES IN TRIAL

HOW TO DEAL WITH PERSONAL ATTACKS & NEGATIVE ISSUES IN TRIAL

We just returned from a week long cruise to Alaska  with our children and their spouses. While on the trip I read a book by Drew Weston The Political Brain. It dealt with political campaigning and the election of politicians, but had informative information about persuasion, decision-making and how the human brain functions. While directed at politics I found that most of what he wrote was applicable to us as plaintiff trial lawyers. For example, I was pleased to read…

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REPRESENTING CLIENTS WITH INJURY TO VISION

REPRESENTING CLIENTS WITH INJURY TO VISION

Recently a trial lawyer friend asked me for ideas  about handling a case involving a client who had negligently been deprived of sight in one eye and resulting limited vision in the other eye. While one would assume that the damages are obvious, my experience in running focus studies regarding cases like this, was the surprising result that many people didn’t regard visual injury and even blindness  as a significant injury. Many people believe that with adaptive devices and other…

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