For some years I collected and saved in a notebook ideas I heard or read about relating to communication and advocacy. Here are two of the items I saved and which you may find of interest. In the 1970’s actor James Garner was featured in a TV series The Rockford Files. In an interview he related how the English actor Charles Laughton had said to him: “Jim, your problem is that you’re afraid to be bad.” Garner said “He…
It is not very often in our normal practice we are called upon to perpetuate the testimony of a client who will likely not survive to trial. In cases of mesothelioma it tragically is the case, but on occasion in a normal tort practice it can be necessary. I advised a friend recently in a case where perpetuation was necessary and here’s what I advised. The approach you use depends almost entirely on the circumstances involving the client and the…
An article written by James W. McElhaney in 2004 was recently called to my attention. McElhaney is a wonderful teacher of solid trial techniques and a long time writer for the ABA Journal about communication in trial. This article was titled “No Time to Waste” and was published in the Journal at: http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/no time_to_waste In writing about opening statement McElhaney writes about “the golden moment” which he says is the first 30 seconds you have when you first begin to speak on…