Category Archives: 360 Virtual Partner
New Thoughts and Prospective for Picking the Best Jury in a Plaintiff’s Personal Injury Case
By: Lisa Blue, Robert Hirschhorn and Kellye Raymond When preparing for voir dire in a personal injury case the first thing you must do is take a hard look at your case and determine if you need a liability jury or a damages jury. There are crucial differences between the two and often times these jurors do not look the same. So, how do you know if you need a liability or a damages jury? Weigh the issues. If you … Continued
Communicate Like President Trump to Grab Your Jury
By: Lisa Blue, Robert Hirschhorn and Kellye Raymond Simple Messages. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, every trial lawyer can learn from Donald Trump’s communication techniques. For example, one time when he was on the Jimmy Kimmel show, candidate Trump gave a one minute, 220 word answer to a question that Kimmel asked him. Like a master communicator, Trump used 172 words that were one syllable and 39 words contained just two syllables. He speaks on a 4th grade … Continued
Do You Need a Biomechanics Expert? If so, How Do You Use One
by Steven Gursten, Michigan Auto Law You receive a phone call from a person who was injured in an auto accident. The prospective client reports he was rear-ended in a recent motor vehicle crash. He is complaining of severe pain in his neck and back. You sign the case. You also order the police report. The Police Report arrives shortly after. It indicates a 0 out of a possible 7 for vehicle crash severity, which is the lowest possible score. … Continued
In the Era of Trump We Must Find the Common Ground with Our Juries
In the Era of Trump We Must Find the Common Ground with Our Juries In a post Trump election world, trial lawyers must search – even more diligently – for those small areas of common ground shared by conservative, moderate and liberal jurors. While it seems impossible, there are three important areas where we can all probably improve. Cohesive deliberations A polarized jury causes a divided deliberation which can, at best, lead to a compromised verdict. At worst, the plaintiff … Continued
Damages are About Putting in the Work
In his 43 years of practice, Chris Searcy of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley of West Palm Beach, FL, has learned a lot about presenting damages. But Chris came to the practice of law with a lot of instinct because at the age of 29 he earned a $1 million verdict, the youngest lawyer in the US to achieve such an award for a single personal injury case. Since then, he has compiled a long list of 7, 8 … Continued
“PowerStory is Unlike Any Other Trial Skills Seminar”
The PowerStory conference was unlike any other trial skills seminar I have attended. Chris Stombaugh offered cutting-edge techniques, backed by cognitive science and thorough research. Filled with dense, yet accessible content, his presentation could have lasted several days and still kept me engaged. I will not soon forget the captivating demonstrations and the substance behind them. Chris showed us how to encourage clients, jurors, and witnesses to open up to us in three easy steps. He demonstrated how in one … Continued
Score One for the First Amendment
Score one for the First Amendment. Steve Gursten of Michigan Auto Law and chair of the Auto Crash Litigation 3.1 conference (April 2-3) wrote in his blog that Dr. Rosalind Griffin, DME, who happens to sit on the Attorney Discipline Board, conducted the defense exam on his client who had been seriously injured in a truck accident in Jackson County, Michigan. In testifying, Dr. Griffin made statements that misrepresented the statements made by the client in the video taped exam. … Continued
Where Are All the Women Lawyers? – Deborah Chang and Sonia Chopra, Ph.D.
Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the legal profession today. It is time to put it to good use. As women lawyers, we must help each other to get a seat at the partnership or courtroom table and to realize that this truly can be the greatest job in the world. In 1987, the first Chairwoman of the newly formed American Bar Association (“ABA”) Commission on Women in the Profession, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made a dire prediction. She believed back … Continued
Visually Shaping your Story – Zoe Littlepage
As an adult, have you ever wondered why you remember – with vivid detail – the fairy tales and stories told to you as a child? Wasn’t that moment – when you climbed onto a parent’s lap and they opened a storybook – magical? You listened to the story while you looked at colored pictures (which graphically cemented the tale into your brain). We still remember the stories of our childhood and the pictures from the story books. Time to … Continued
Use Role Reversal to Get Unstuck in the Drama
Role reversal is a technique used by Louise Lipman through out her trial consulting and as a faculty member at Gerry Spence’s Trial Lawyers College. She has found that the process results in many benefits to all participants, including allowing one to better understand the people and the situation, shifting the perspective of the lawyers, clients and witnesses, and getting everyone unstuck in the drama of the case to further the story. Ms. Lipman’s offers an overview of the benefits … Continued
