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Author: Paul Luvera

Luvera practiced plaintiff law 55 years. He is past President of the Inner Circle of Advocates & Washington State Trial Lawyers Association. Member ABOTA, American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy, International Society of Barristers and the American Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. Book Luvera on Advocacy available at Trial Guides Publishing Email paul@luvera.org
ARBITRATION IS A DEFENSE WEAPON

ARBITRATION IS A DEFENSE WEAPON

Why do businesses and corporations want arbitration and not trials? There are a number of reasons, which include some of the following: Lower damage awards No jury & arbitrators are statistically more conservative Elimination of class actions. Most arbitration clauses require individual claims &  bar class or collective actions. This converts one systemic wrong → hundreds of small, uneconomic claims, avoiding massive exposure → scattered, manageable costs. Repeat-player advantage Corporations appear in arbitration repeatedly, are familiar to arbitration providers, and…

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GERRY SPENCE JURY SELECTION EXAMPLES

GERRY SPENCE JURY SELECTION EXAMPLES

Gerry Spence and I met a couple of years before he created his Trial Lawyers College in Wyoming. We became friends, and he invited me to be one of the teachers for the first year he started the Trial Lawyers College. Unfortunately, I was involved in a 4-week trial in Oregon and couldn’t attend. However, I was asked by Gerry to teach at the program for the next 20 years. Each summer, I would travel to Dubois, WY, where Thunderbird…

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ADVICE TO A NEW LAWYER

ADVICE TO A NEW LAWYER

I was asked for advice about a new lawyer who would like to be a great plaintiff’s trial lawyer. In addition to providing articles and advice, I thought the ideas of my late friend Gerry Spence would be helpful as well. I didn’t find any examples of his actually giving that advice to an individual, so what follows is what I think he might have advised. This is an outline version of what he taught, written in his voice and…

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