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Juror Best Practices Litigation Strategies

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

(Safely) Combat Safety Absolutism

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Recently, civil defendants have been interested in a new label: “Safetyism.” The idea focuses on a pervasive and increasing attitude in the jury-eligible population that demands unrealistic standards...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Encourage Juror Note-Taking (and Take Notes Yourselves)

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: In our increasingly digital world, the idea of taking notes the old-fashioned way with paper and pen can feel quaint. Yet, many of us still do it. For those jurors who are permitted to take notes, they...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Openings of Openings

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In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small describes different approaches to opening statements in a trial, outlining three common styles: dramatic, theme-oriented and...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The Basics of Opening Statements

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Litigation attorney Dan Small continues his insightful "Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series with a new episode focused on opening statements. Drawing from his extensive trial experience, Mr. Small offers practical tips...more

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Podcast - Effective Trial Language Part 2: Legalese

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In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, Holland & Knight litigation attorney Dan Small discusses the use of legalese in the courtroom. He advises attorneys to avoid using too much legal jargon...more

IMS Legal Strategies

The Reptile Brain Strategy: Why Lawyers Use It and How to Counter It

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Over the years, we have heard much consternation from our clients regarding a plaintiff strategy called the “Reptile Approach.” We have seen this approach become more and more popular—not to mention effective—during...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Liberal and Conservative Jurors: Account for Different Moral Systems

When a juror looks at an act and declares it to be bad or good, where is that coming from? Well, hopefully, it is coming from the evidence. But inevitably, it is also coming from that juror’s own habits of moral judgment. And...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Compliment in Order to Persuade

I’ve got to say it: I think I have the best readers in the whole litigation-blogging space. You’re thoughtful, committed, and willing to reach out to me with feedback and ideas for new posts. Honestly, I don’t think I could...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Make Your Slides Less Texty: Six Tips

In any challenging communication situation, it is best to combine the visual with the verbal. This is good practice because pictures tend to make things more “truthy,” in the sense that claims that are accompanied by relevant...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Be Thankful (Jurors Like You Better That Way)

In the current wave of this pandemic year, as many trials and in-person jury research projects are on hold, the social science research has continued. I’m thankful for that, and for this post, I want to appreciate a new study...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Appreciate the Advantages of Online Mock Trials

In the past couple of months, I have heard of just a couple of in-person mock trials that have gone forward. They’ve done so with temperature checks, massive social distancing, sometimes masked mock jurors, and generally...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts, Know Your Eight Bases of Persuasion

What makes an expert witness persuasive to a jury? Is it their background and training? The work that they did on the case? Their communication skills in teaching the jury? The research suggests that expert influence depends...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Add Numeracy to Your Jury

Watching a mock jury deliberate about damages can give you the idea that when it comes to numbers, jurors can be a little random. For example, a jury might see a big difference between $500,000 and $1 million in one moment,...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Interview Your Jurors with Purpose: Eight Ways

The chance to interview a juror is a precious opportunity. Whether it is a mock juror interviewed in the course of a focus group or mock trial, or an actual juror interviewed after they are dismissed at the end of trial, an...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Treat Your Credibility as Central, Not Peripheral

The lawyer preparing their case likely goes through a long list of, “What will they think about…” questions, relating to the facts, the evidence, the arguments, and the law. Eventually, that attorney might get to the...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Focus on the Focused, but also Deal with the Diffuse

Both theory and experience say that there are two kinds of thinking. One is focused thinking, zeroing in on a topic, analytically and systematically. The other is diffuse thinking, abstract and constrained only by association...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Beware of Extremist Bias

When we engage in arguments, perhaps on social media or even around the table at Christmas dinner, it is easy to notice that there is something different about those at the extremes. Extremists are so filled with confidence...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Thank Your Jurors…Just Don’t Go Overboard

I remember once sitting in court early into the defense opening statement, and the attorney was busy thanking the jurors, again. Even though they had already heard the spiel from the other side, and from this attorney’s...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Address the ‘My House, My Responsibility’ Analogy

There is a persistent belief among many mock jurors that I have seen in certain kinds of cases. The belief is that liability attaches automatically to possession, and jurors usually express it through the lens of home...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Understand Jurors’ Process on Pain and Suffering

Juror 1: “The next category is ‘pain and suffering.’ How are we supposed to get to get that number?” Juror 2: “It is just whatever we want…there’s no guidance for it.“ Juror 1: “How are we supposed to do that? Put a...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Speak to the Personal Responsibility Divide

On one end of the spectrum, there are specific beliefs jurors might hold on an issue. More generally, then there are attitudes that cover and predict many of those different beliefs. Even more generally, there is the...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Tell a Different Story During Closing

Lawyers tend to think of opening statement as the time for stories. But I think you’re telling a story in closing argument as well: not the same story, but a different one. And I don’t mean you should change the facts or...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Account for Juror Malaise

Nearly 40 years ago, in 1979, during the country’s energy crisis, President Jimmy Carter gave what is now called the “Malaise Speech.” Without using that word, he spoke of “a crisis of confidence” that “strikes at the very...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Expect Science Views to Vary

Jurors sometimes need to grapple with science, and given the constraints of the trial process and the often-complex nature of the testimony, “grapple” is probably the right word. Whether it involves working through detailed...more

Holland & Hart - Your Trial Message

Experts, Cultivate Awe

Remember Carl Sagan and the original show Cosmos? It was a beloved series in the late 70’s, not just for its accessible explanations of something as complex as the history of the universe, but also for its ability to evoke a...more

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