Podcast - The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Do the Right Thing
Podcast - Drowning in Complexity
Podcast - Presentation is Paramount
Living Without Feedback
Trial Advocacy in the Modern World
Closing Argument: Opportunity and Challenge
Direct Examination: Looping and Bookending
Innovative Jury Strategies and the Power of Preparation — FCRA Focus Podcast
Opening Statements: Telling the Story
Openings of Openings
The Basics of Opening Statements
Effective Trial Language Part 3: Jargon
Podcast - Effective Trial Language Part 2: Legalese
Why Demonstrative Aids Are Critical in Every Case
Showing Exhibits to the Jury
Key Lessons and Takeaways for Jury Trials
Overcoming Safetyism & the Plaintiff Media Machine - IMS Insights Podcast Epsiode 66
Podcast - Basic Courtroom Etiquette
Podcast - The Five Most Common Faults of Trial Lawyers
Will the individuals who serve on your jury be the same people they were before they were called for service and selected? Will they have the same mental habits and preferences they exhibit in their civilian lives outside the...more
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene's damage to western North Carolina, a new conspiracy theory gained traction. This conspiracy held that the federal government manipulated the weather as Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina...more
Perhaps one of the most quintessential concerns for corporate defendants in the last decade is that of nuclear verdicts. In just a decade, from 2013 to 2022, there were 115 verdicts of $100 million or more. The Institute for...more
In Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol,” the final act is brought by the spectral Ghost of Christmas Future who shows the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge the vision of those he mistreated in life celebrating his death after...more
As I write this, it is finally and mercifully Election Day, 2024. For many of us on the edges of our seats awaiting the returns, we might be considering the question, “What brought us to this?” The answer is that recent...more
Misinformation "poses an unprecedented threat in 2024," according to NBC News. No matter which side of the many social divides someone stands on, they can find a readily available source to support their opinion—and a...more
With the rise of social media, there is now a great deal of public information existing on the internet about many individuals. As part of jury selection, this information can be gathered and analyzed to provide attorneys...more
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about all of the “QAnon” followers, and how and whether they are reconciling recent events with their belief in Donald Trump’s role in purging the top echelons of politics and society before...more
With today’s ever-changing political climate, a juror’s political affiliation is an important factor to consider throughout the voir dire process. Political attitudes can create gridlocks, contention and animosity among...more
It can be helpful to think of the information that we are exposed to in the same way as we think about the food we consume: a diet. Like a diet, the information consumed is not the same for everyone, and it is not the same...more
When Trump associate Roger Stone was sentenced last month for obstruction of Congress and witness tampering, there was some pushback from media, Stone’s legal team, and the President himself targeting the jury’s foreperson, a...more
Social media is increasingly important in eDiscovery, employment investigations and jury research. Using social media in legal and HR matters raises significant ethical issues. Lawyers and other legal professionals should...more
The idea of a courtroom trial is that it is a sealed system. The fact-finders arrive in a neutral state of mind, they receive and review only what is vetted and presented in court, and then they deliberate to a verdict...more
As our team was conducting a recent social media analysis on a jury pool, one particular potential juror stood out. He was, as he proudly proclaimed in his public online messages, a “flat-earther.” And this belief of his,...more
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media services store the personal and professional information of millions of users. To the enterprising trial attorney, that’s millions of tweets, posts, photos, ‘likes’, pins,...more
In late March 2016, a California federal judge asked both Google, Inc. and Oracle America, Inc. to voluntarily consent to a ban against Internet and social media research on empaneled or prospective jurors until the...more
In a March 25, 2016 Order, Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California gave Google and Oracle the choice between agreeing to a ban on conducting Internet and social media research on jurors until the trial is...more
What are the ethical boundaries of an attorney’s internet research of jurors? Before the ubiquity of the internet, an attorney obviously couldn’t walk up to a potential juror in a restaurant and strike up a conversation. But...more
Many people cannot control their social media impulses and this is now becoming an issue during trials. Disregarding the court’s instructions that jurors are not to discuss the case with anyone during the trial, there are...more