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WHAT CAN OLD TIME RADIO ADVENTURES TEACH US ABOUT PRESENTING OUR CASES?

WHAT CAN OLD TIME RADIO ADVENTURES TEACH US ABOUT PRESENTING OUR CASES?

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Have you ever asked someone “What is your case about?” and they respond: “My client was  driving his pickup truck on I-5 near Federal Way in the middle  lane going between 60 and 65 mph when traffic ahead  slowed…” and so on. That’s how we present our cases to the jury – a narrative or chronology instead of a story. A story begins with a descriptive characterization about the essence of the case. For example, a response to this question…

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TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING JURY VERDICT OUTCOMES

TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING JURY VERDICT OUTCOMES

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  Screen all new cases objectively and not emotionally. There are cases where the inherent issues are so negatively compelling and your odds of prevailing so slight it is a disservice to the client and the system to accept the case. Your decision of whether to carry the case forward should be objective and not emotional based upon evaluation of the liability, the extent of damages and the ability to collect damages. Identify the controlling issues. You must objectively identify…

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PLAINTIFF’S SHOULD ALWAYS START BY ATTACKING THE DEFENDANT

PLAINTIFF’S SHOULD ALWAYS START BY ATTACKING THE DEFENDANT

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I’ve written about this before, but I still have plaintiffs lawyers who express doubt about the rule that a plaintiff should always start their case by attacking the defendant. Some years ago Lawyers Weekly published an article by Elaine McArdle about the  research regarding this rule. In the 1990s,trial lawyers Gregory Cusimano and David Wenner investigated the issue.They presented fact patterns to hundreds of focus groups around the country and in that process they observed a consistent pattern: when they…

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