Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

Jim McElhaney has been writing about trial practice for as long as I remember and I’ve been reading what writes every since I discovered him. One of the only reasons I continue to belong to the American Bar Association is to get  their journal and read his writing McElhaney on Litigation. I’ve always had Melvin Belli’s bias about the ABA. When they terminated his membership for some perceived infraction he said it was like being kicked out the Reader’s Digest Association….

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I’ve often used the old school grading system in my trials in several ways. When I went to school the grades were A, B, C, D & F.  Of course, there were grade variations such as B+ or B- as well, but those were the basic grades. I’ve used this as an analogy to the conduct of the defendant. "Should the defendant get a passing grade for their conduct? What grade does this defendant deserve for the effort made to…

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 A few years ago I represented the children of a deceased father. His wife had been dead for several years before he died. A lawsuit was filed by a woman acquaintance against his estate.  She claimed she was entitled to a large share of his estate on the basis of multiple claims including a promise to leave her money and other similar claims. She lost and eventually was required to pay my clients costs and attorney fees. I had a collection of notes on…

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