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Month: June 2018

ALWAYS APPEAL TO THE JURORS NEED FOR A JUST OUTCOME THROUGH A COMPELLING STORY

ALWAYS APPEAL TO THE JURORS NEED FOR A JUST OUTCOME THROUGH A COMPELLING STORY

As trial lawyers most of us need no convincing to agree that our appeal to the jury is best presented as a story. We know that since the dawn of time humans have used stories to make sense out of the world – to learn, to teach, to instill moral values and to memorialize events. That is our human nature. In fact, scientists have shown, through psychological studies, that if we present raw facts to people, they will immediately begin…

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POLITICAL WISDOM FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

POLITICAL WISDOM FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

In 2002 political advisers James Carville and Paul Begala published a book they entitled “Buck up, Suck up… And Come Back When You Foul Up.” Although dated in terms of its publication, most of the observations they make that relate to communication and persuasion are as relevant today as they were when they wrote it. While the book is intended as advice for politics and politicians, the fundamentals they discuss apply directly to trial work. Here are a few of…

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DAVID BALL TRIAL CONCEPTS

DAVID BALL TRIAL CONCEPTS

I’ve long been a fan of David Ball’s advice about plaintiff trial concepts. His book David Ball on damages 3 is available from Trial Guides  https://www.trialguides.com/ and should be in every plaintiff trial lawyers library. I recently reviewed personal notes I’d made of some of his ideas, which I’m sharing to encourage study of his publications and suggestions. These are just some random ideas from my notes of his writings. While physical pain is important, loss of mobility and loss of independence is…

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