There are times when trial lawyers need to step back from their stressful work and reflect on life. Here are a collection of items you may find refreshing and perhaps helpful. LIFE LESSONS: Alexander Chalmers has said “the three grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, someone to love, and something to hope for.” LESSONS FROM FAILURE In the 1929 Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day Georgia Tech fumbled the ball and California’s Roy Riegel picked it up and…
There are a many approaches to the structure of a final argument in an injury case. One reliable approach is to base it on the jury instructions. Using the jury instructions as the foundation for argument gives it the authority of law from the judge. Here is one example of a very simple outline from a Washington state jury trial. . 1.THE VERDICT FORM . (1)Put verdict form on screen (2)Go through each question & explain significance (without giving verdict…
“I’m not an economist and we all know economists were created to make weather forecasters look good.” Robert Murdoch In cases with significant economic loss, we decide that we need an expert in economics to project the future economic loss for the jury. It is not error to refuse to instruct the jury to discount future medical expenses and lost earning capacity to present cash value if no evidence is introduced as to the proper interest rate or mathematical formula….