Handle Your Challenging CEO Client Successfully with “Yes, and”
Successful CEOs, entrepreneurs and surgeons (among others) can be difficult clients. Their very success too often leads them to believe they know everything about how to succeed in their legal matter. Which usually involves their wanting you to do something entirely different from what you know is the best approach to handling their case or […]
Simple Words That Win With Jurors: “Thank you, Your Honor”
I was assisting with voir dire recently when opposing counsel, questioning the prospective jurors, was told by the judge to “Move along, counselor,” to which the attorney replied, “But Your Honor…” I barely listened to the rest of what the attorney was saying, because I was delighted at the expression of confusion and dismay on […]
Take A Page From Oscar Winning Actors: Read Your Openings/Closings Out Loud Before The Trial – Dr. Noelle Nelson
Your opening may read brilliantly on paper, but here’s the thing: the jurors won’t be reading your opening; they’ll be listening to it. Listening involves different pathways in our brains. What may make a great deal of sense when read can come across as just so much nonsense when heard. The best example I know […]
Jurors Live By “What You See Is What You Believe.” Ignore It At Your Peril
“What you see is what you believe” – is true not just of how jurors gauge the veracity of a witness or party’s testimony, but also of how jurors assess you when you sit at the counsel table. Jurors evaluate your demeanor according to stereotypical interpretations; they have no personal knowledge of you that would […]
Focus Groups Save the Day–on Broadway!
History sometimes provides us with useful lessons for present-day concerns – even if seemingly unrelated to trial techniques. One of my personal favorites is the story of how a potential Broadway flop, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, went from the media comparing the show to the Titanic, i.e., a massive failure, to a $160 million […]
Who Wants A Perceived Liar On The Stand? Not You!
People aren’t very good at detecting liars. Studies show that people’s hit rate for detecting lies (54%) is slightly above pure chance (50%), which is good news for the liars, but bad news for you in the courtroom. Why? Because people tend to pay attention to certain cues to determine if someone is lying, but […]
Put “Truthiness” To Work For You—At Trial!
The value of visuals in trial work is well established, in that images emphasize and clarify testimony or evidence. However, research shows that visuals have an impact in yet another way, which can be put to powerful use in the courtroom. Scientists examined what Stephen Colbert calls “truthiness” –the feeling that something is true. What […]
Do You Like Me?
Likeability shouldn’t matter in the courtroom. A lawyer’s personality should be irrelevant. The facts should be paramount; they should be the only thing jurors pay attention to. Would that be nice if it were true? The jurors on any one of your jury panels are persuaded by a combination of factors. Facts are but one […]
The Enduring, Maddening CSI Effect
In my ongoing research of what jurors think and how they decide cases, I am once again reminded of the enduring “CSI effect,” and how lawyers would do well to pay more attention to it. Simply put, the “CSI effect” is jurors’ overriding, sometimes obsessive, need to explore for themselves every bit of physical evidence […]
Arrogance 101: Dump It!
In this era where celebrities are revered and the super-wealthy envied, it’s easy to forget how such individuals are perceived once in the Courtroom. Certainly, some celebrities and mega-billionaires have retained their essential “human-ness” despite their fame. Dick Van Dyke and Dolly Parton come to mind, but too many who’ve found themselves propelled into fame […]