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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
PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASION

PRINCIPLES OF PERSUASION

Edward Burkley and Darshon Anderson published an informative article “Using the Science of Persuasion in the Courtroom” in Persuasion Research. Among the research conclusions they discussed where these. Research showed that if people who are asked to think of reasons to support a position and have difficulty generating ways to do so, they are likely to perceive the idea as a bad idea. Therefore, the authors say, by asking the jury to think of some ways (no more than three…

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SHAKESPEARE’S ADVICE FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

SHAKESPEARE’S ADVICE FOR TRIAL LAWYERS

I marvel at the gift of words Shakespeare exhibits in his writing. Allow me to take a great deal of liberty with it and apply it to our work as trial lawyers. Let’s start with those limited number of trial lawyers we deal with who never fail to demonstrate a lack of integrity and ethics in their discovery disclosures and general conduct. They soon become known to all of us and we learn they cannot be trusted. Shakespeare’s advice about…

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OPENING STATEMENT ON DAMAGE PORTION OF CASE

OPENING STATEMENT ON DAMAGE PORTION OF CASE

  For a description of this trial see I thought I’d share the short opening statement I made which was limited to the damage portion of the case since my partners had covered liability before I spoke. I don’t offer this as a model, but simply to suggest that one can achieve multimillion dollar verdicts in major injury cases without a lengthy opening statement on damages. What isn’t illustrated are the slides that accompanied this opening and which allowed me…

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