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
Podcast - The “Five P’s” That Will Help Shape Jurors’ Emotions
The Strategic Advantages of Working with Jury Consultants – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 56
Uncovering Juror Bias, Counteracting Nuclear Verdicts, & the Future of Massive Damages – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 47
Integrated Case Themes & Nuclear Verdict Causes – IMS Insights Podcast Episode 46
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
Litigation attorney Dan Small shares insights and strategies for delivering a compelling closing argument in this episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series. He explains the challenges of delivering a closing...more
In this episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small discusses why demonstrative aids are critical in every case. Mr. Small shares why he believes simple demonstratives, when...more
“[T]ell a great story if you want to live.” A newly minted screenwriter, on the verge of pitching his spy thriller to studio executives, was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. He shared this advice from his doctor...more
Once the cases are both in, the witnesses are all examined and, the evidence is before the jury, it is time to close, and for many attorneys, that means ramping up the emotion in order to commit jurors to your position. The...more
Right off the top, I want to make clear that none of the tips involve starting off your ending with, “In conclusion….” I have always disliked that phrase, and put it in a category — along with phrases like “As I said before…”...more
Trial lawyers work in words: language that is precise, economical, and influential. Those words are the water that litigators swim in, and for that reason, the absence of words can be a little uncomfortable. That can be an...more
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
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
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
The title asks a provocative question: “When it comes to jury trials, should you tell a story or stick to the facts?” The piece in the “Your Voice” section of the current ABA Journal is written by Drury Sherrod, a litigation...more
We know that when presenting to jurors, the goal is not just to present, but to engage, to relate, to adapt, and ultimately to persuade. You don’t want to simply lay information in front of jurors and hope they will pick it...more
“Epistimology,” or the question of how we know what we know, seems like an abstract rather than a practical idea. But when it comes to the practical task of assessing and persuading jurors, the epistemological habits of those...more
The two terms are often used interchangeably, but “rebuttal” doesn’t mean the same thing as “refutation.” The latter amounts to an attack on the arguments of the other side, and the former means rebuilding your own arguments...more
Lately, the nation has been divided, again, on a critical question of public policy. And, again, that division reveals some stark differences in the ways each side views the facts and understands the values at stake. This...more
Persuading a group that will then go off and deliberate is a unique persuasive setting. In a way, it can be called ‘Second Order’ persuasion, because it isn’t just about the person being convinced in the moment they’re...more