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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
Advising clients about settlement before the mediation

Advising clients about settlement before the mediation

Here are the primary facts I believe the client should be advised about when considering settlement of their case: Any case can be lost because juries are unpredictable. There is no way of knowing what group of people you will get from the blind selection process. You can get a good group or a bad group. You cannot "select" a jury. There are only three excuses allowed. While plaintiff’s generally win about 60% of the cases brought, they lose over…

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Gerry spence jury selection method

Gerry spence jury selection method

At the Gerry Spence Trial College the following rules are taught as the correct approach to jury selection: Be yourself – be real. Embrace the truth even if it hurts Have a conversation with the jury not a lecture Determine the issues in your case. What am I afraid of? Share with the jury yourself before you ask them to share with you Focus on the juror. Mentally shake hands with the juror you are talking to Thank them for…

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Make your point short and simple

Make your point short and simple

I’ve just returned from the Washington State Bar Convention in Vancouver B.C. I was fortunate to have chaired the Friday portion which involved talks that were limited to ten minutes each. It always impresses mehow much you can say in ten minutes. When you think about 30 second commercials and the television shows that have 2.5 minutes of cross examination, you realize that we often use far too much time to make our points in trial. Milo Frank wrote a…

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