In the days of Roman glory it has been pointed out that the Roman army wasunconquerable. They might lose a battle or even a campaign, but they refused to accept losing a war. In the face of total defeat the Roman army would not admit defeat. This "Roman persistence" was the determining factor in the greatness of the Roman empire. In 212 BC Hannibal’s army routed the Roman army in total defeat. But, the Romans refused to surrender to Hannibal…
There are many lessons learned from the five week trial I just finished. One of them was re-enforcement of the principle that a trial is not a battle of logic, but rather one of impression. We now know that well over 90% of our decision process is done at a level we are not even conscious about. Gladwell’s book Blink is one of the better recent books on this subject. What we know is that people’s opinion process is driven…
Last Friday, while the jury was deliberating, I was at the University of Washington Medical School giving a talk to physicians about medical malpractice. It had been scheduled for several months and so I was obligated to deliver it in spite of the stress of the day. A lawyer-nurse married to a physician talked to her husband about this idea and they both agreed it was something that should be done. I’m grateful to both of them for an opportunity…