Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

The King County Bar Journal in June 2026 published an article by Thomas M O’Toole and Kevin Bouly, “Persuading reverse engineers.” They did an excellent job of outlining the great truth (unknown to too many plaintiff trial lawyers) about how jurors actually reach decisions. It is a subject I have written and lectured to lawyers about for years and which the writers explain very well. I’m taking the liberty of quoting the essence of their writing about this process. See…

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The factors that influence people serving on juries have changed as a result of COVID-19 and media coverage of national politics. Trial lawyers should be aware of the studies and research documenting these changes of influence in their jury selection preparation. One motivating factor, in particular, that stands out for the majority of juror groups is concern for safety. In an article “The Rise of Safety’s Is Influencing Verdicts” https://imslegal.com/articles/safetyism-influencing-verdicts, it is pointed out: “With technological and medical advances, humans…

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There have been a number of studies and publications by the defense and insurance interests about the trend of large verdicts commonly labeled by them as “Nuclear Verdicts. The information is of interest to plaintiff lawyers. Here are some examples of this kind of information. https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2023/07/21/what-are-nuclear-verdicts-and-why-are-they-occurring/ Nuclear verdicts are a relatively new phenomenon in the insurance industry. The term “nuclear verdict” refers to any court award or settlement that is higher than expected, but legal experts officially define a “nuclear…

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