Here is a late report of the Trial Lawyer’s College regional meeting in Leavenworth, Washington. The theme was “Discovering the Story” and it was very well attended with some 94 lawyers. I picked Gerry up at the airport and we made the 2.5 hour drive there talking the whole way. At 82 years of age my friend’s mind is sharp and he gets along better then my 76 year old body moves. We missed a turn (I was driving) because Gerry…
In his book The Social Animal, David Brooks writes about how human beings function and discusses decision making. Here are a few of his observations worth thinking about the next time you are preparing for a court hearing or a trial. The signficant fact is the essential role of emotion in our decisions and that decisions are largely controlled by an unconscious mind function. 1. one of the breakthroughs that help us understand the interplay between emotion and decision-making began…
Eric Oliver is a nationally known jury and communications consultant at his company Metasystems in Detroit. He publishes News from the Mental Edge which I enjoy reading for the many ideas it offers. Here are some miscellaneous thoughts from the last issue. Eric suggests that “harm, fairness, community (or group loyalty), authority and purity are the “primary colors” of our moral sense. He suggests forming our position around them. For example, the rule: “it’s wrong to needlessly injure people” involves the…