Exuding Credibility in the Courtroom
Áine Bryn of Mercer UK on Demonstrating the Strategic Credibility of the Marketing Function - Passle's CMO Series Podcast
Building Credibility as an Appellate Advocate | Rachel Stinson | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Day 2 of One Month to Better Investigations and Reporting-Selection of Investigative Counsel
Testifying, whether in a deposition or in trial, can feel pretty threatening. Particularly if you’re a named defendant in a lawsuit, you know you’re going to be the target. But even when you’re on the other side, or you’re an...more
As a presentation technology consultant, I have been sitting in the hot seat for almost 25 years. I average one trial a month with about 75% being medical malpractice (med mal) cases. I work with both plaintiff and defense...more
In an era of increased juror skepticism and perceived “Nuclear Verdicts,” there has been a call for new thinking on defense side. The need is for fresh approaches to cut against the factors motivating jurors toward extreme...more
Prior to the civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Donald Trump’s credibility had already taken a big hit in the two lawsuits brought by E. Jean Carroll (“Carroll”), claiming sexual assault....more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small sits down with Frank Vecella, principal at McKool Smith and former head of litigation for Ericsson, for an in-depth discussion...more
As we begin to take stock of and conduct research on the effects on the pandemic adaptations, it is important to keep an essential principle in mind: The research on pandemic adaptations is not just about the pandemic...more
It’s America’s case of the moment: Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Hollywood’s former power-couple, now exchanging accusations of physical abuse in a Fairfax, Virginia courtroom. The defamation case initially brought by Depp has...more
I have worked with more than one defendant who simply could not resist it: Right out of the gate, in opening statement, they come out swinging against the plaintiff. They’re not being honest, they have their own share of...more
The idea is a merger of pop culture with academics. In pop culture, “truthiness” refers facetiously to the feeling of something being true, independent of its actual truth value (a term coined by late-night comedian, Stephen...more
As of press time for this post, 173,094 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus. If the United States had followed the example of other developed countries by taking earlier and more decisive actions against the virus,...more
In United States v. Solano, the Second Circuit (Kearse, Calabresi, and Carney) vacated and remanded a conviction for attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on the grounds that the district court had...more
As a sign of just how serious the coronavirus pandemic is getting, the President has finally appeared in public with a mask. The precaution of wearing a face mask is still highly politicized, but it is slowly catching on. In...more
As American society copes with the COVID-19 pandemic, masks and face coverings have become the focus of legal mandates, political protests, and nonstop commentary—in some instances, even violence. But beyond the public health...more
The habit of sort of just filling in your speech with expressions of uncertainty, when you’re not really that uncertain, is probably a bad habit. I mean, I am fairly sure that these hedges cut down on your perceived...more
So you’re conducting the cross-examination, and the witness is fighting like a three hundred pound marlin at the end of your fishing line. And they’re not fighting by legitimately drawing distinctions or by using their own...more
In one of the many classic scenes from “My Cousin Vinny,” the hapless defense attorney played by Joe Pesci, delivers his brief but to-the-point opening statement (“Yeah, everything that guy just said is bullshit… Thank...more
For someone starting out in a career, or in some other situation where credibility will be required, there is an expression: “Fake it until you make it.” In other words, if you act like you’ve got it, then people are going to...more
Americans finally got to see the redacted report from Independent Counsel Robert Mueller last week. The report on Trump campaign issues relating to Russian election interference raised questions in a great variety of...more
It is one of the central messages of witness preparation: Be confident, because if you’re confident, you’ll be more credible. Once, I got the reply from a witness, “But I don’t feel confident,” and the question, “Should I act...more
It was another big moment yesterday as Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, testified publicly before the House Oversight Committee. Widely seen as an opening act prior to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s...more
It is well known that some people have it in for corporations, especially when these large companies find themselves on the defense side in a courtroom. Our own research has shown that a negative attitude is very common, with...more
Just before Thanksgiving, the White House released a statement on U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia in the wake of the brutal murder of U.S. journalist and Saudi expatriate Jamal Khashoggi. The short version of President...more
It is almost election time again. But the normally low-turnout midterm may not be in the cards this time around, owing to the outrage on both sides of the political spectrum. And some believe that it’s a shame that we have...more
It is an odd business relationship. As far as the customers go, they’re buying a service that they truly hope they will never need. For the companies, the ideal customer is the one they never meet, the one who pays their...more
Recently, I was running a mock trial exercise with three retired judges. Reviewing the testimony, one shared a skepticism toward the “hired-gun” engineers they had heard, and opined that what is “more important is the...more