We expect trial lawyers to be skillful advocates and effective speakers. However, too often when we hear a lawyer describe their case or relate the story of a trial, it is an overly long, detailed and confusing. Trial lawyers favor the use of PowerPoint and Keynote in their presentations and at trial. However, too frequently they are ineffective because there are too many, they are hard to read or they have too much written material per slide. It is important…
I’m taking a personal privilege to share facts about my life as a trial lawyer in this post. That’s because, this month, God willing, I will have lived on this planet for eighty-six years. I was born in 1935 on the 21st day of February at the Anacortes Hospital. I was the third born to Mary Babarovich Luvera. My sisters Phyllis and Anita preceded me. My parents owned and operated a family grocery store on Commercial Avenue. Franklin D. Roosevelt…
The traditional advice and rules about the process of selecting a jury may require revision and rethinking with the impact of virtual trials. When we are not physically present with the jurors and unmasked, some of the established traditional concepts may no longer be applicable or require revision. Here however, are the fundamentals of jury selection much of which still applies no matter how the case is physically tried. THE PROCESS IS NOT “SELECTING” A JURY Experienced trial judges and…