Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

On February 8th this year, twenty-five-year-old delivery driver Michael Garcia pulled into a Starbucks drive-through in Southern Los Angeles and ordered three cups of hot tea. The Starbucks barista passed the order to him through the window in a cardboard drink carrier. The Starbucks security camera shows that within less than two seconds, an improperly secured cup in the tray with 180-degree tea toppled over into his lap, causing a second cup to do the same. The tea spill caused…

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The King County Bar Bulletin, https://www.kcba.org/?pg=News-Bar-Bulletin publishes a column by Thomas M. O’Toole, Ph.D. & Kevin R. Boully, Ph.D, trial consultants. A recent issue featured their ideas in a column titled Escaping “Lawyer Brain” in Jury Presentations. It dealt with “developing a communication style that resonates with jurors, one that is both persuasive and engaging.” I thought it made excellent points and should be shared. What has that got to do with the title I chose? Well, I thought about…

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I recently participated in a seminar conducted by Mark Mandell on the importance of case framing in our trials. Here are some of the PowerPoint slides used in my talk which was about the science of case framing. Research shows how quickly we form impressions. In one study, it was found that we form an impression of the other person within 1/10 of a second after we meet them. In another, university students were shown very brief video of the…

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