Closing Arguments: Focus and Organization
Closing Argument: Opportunity and Challenge
How to Make Clear, Quick and Effective Objections
More on Cross-Examination: Building a Case Brick by Brick
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Ask One Question Too Many
Podcast - The Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination
Podcast - Refresh vs. Impeach: Know the Difference
The Justice Insiders Podcast: Jarkesy’s Implications for the Administrative State
Podcast - Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses
Cross-Examination: The Three C’s of Impeachment
Cross-Examination: How to Effectively Impeach with a Prior Inconsistent Statement
Cross-Examination: Finding Control
DE Under 3: OFCCP Must Shut Down its Administrative Court Prosecutions as a Result of SCOTUS’ SEC Jury Trial Case Decision
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Argue - Elicit Facts
Cross-Examination: Asking the Right Leading Questions
Podcast - Cross-Examination: The Importance of Organization
Understanding When to Cross-Examine
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Basic Approaches
The "Why" of Cross-Examination
Basic Points to Consider in Redirect Examination
Spoiler alert: In case you haven’t seen the movie yet, Old Yeller dies in the end. And the whole world cried. And they still do, as the film continues to captivate new generations of audiences since its original release in...more
Like the continuing need to have a ‘pocket mask’ in many places, the online judicial meeting or hearing has become an accepted fact of almost-post-pandemic life. But, chances are, the remote hearing will last longer (knock on...more
As courts continue their uncertain transition from a Covid to a post-Covid stance, the word from many is that the Zoom hearing is the pandemic adaptation that is most likely to become a normal feature of litigation going...more
Courts over the past year and a half have moved with unprecedented speed into unorthodox territory, exploring ways to conduct trials, or portions of trials, via remote videoconferencing technology. In that setting, perhaps it...more
When you’re dealing with testimony, argument, or any other form of communication, it is easy to assume that you’re getting less when it is distanced. In a remote conference or any Zoom-like experience, it seems that the...more
As the 2021 pandemic year winds to a close, while the 2022 pandemic year waits in the wings, it may be a good time to take stock of changes in legal procedure brought by the pandemic. Given the persistence of needed social...more
Even as things are fitfully returning to a post-pandemic normal (perhaps against the current COVID Omicron variant-driven medical advice) one feature of the last 21 months seems to be lingering: the Zoom conference. In legal...more
For a while, we seemed headed toward resuming in-person jury trials here in Travis County. A few live trials took place under the civil district judges’ pilot program, including a two-week proceeding before Judge Amy Clark...more
Arizona may not be the model when it comes to partisan post-election audits. But when it comes to online or virtual trials, the “Cyber Ninjas” in that context seem to be doing much better. In the Grand Canyon state’s most...more
The jurors assemble and begin watching the trial — not the actual jurors but the shadow jurors, the ones who are recruited by one side, matched to the real jurors, and offer feedback on the trial as it comes in. They watch...more
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, litigators were forced to pivot their practice and adapt to virtual technology to continue pursuit of their matters. Analyzing the benefits and drawbacks to this new virtual world, today,...more
The courtroom is a special place, and there are both symbolic and substantive layers to that special status. At the symbolic layer, there are the physical trappings of the courtroom: dark wood, granite, columns, raised...more
There are two theories fighting it out over what will happen once the pandemic fades. The first, — I’ll call it the “blip theory” — posits that we will simply go back to normal pre-pandemic times, with the lockdown’s...more
Legendary jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote that “hard cases make bad law,” by which he meant that a legal rule fashioned for an extraordinary circumstance can be inappropriate for the resolution of everyday disputes....more
A courtroom process is supposed to be formal and solemn. The habits of delivering justice in person, through decorum and civic ritual, are designed to evoke a deference to the rule of law. When conducted remotely using a...more
As courts across the country begin resuming jury trials, litigators returning to in-person proceedings must be prepared for the myriad logistical considerations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic — from mask-wearing and...more
With the extended pandemic restrictions and the resulting court backlogs across the country, we have moved tentatively into the world of online trials and hearings, with participants joining from different locations. In that...more
As courts tentatively start to reopen in person, the extent to which remote proceedings will remain is uncertain. But when COVID-19 shuttered courthouses everywhere, Travis County, Texas took the lead in providing courthouse...more
“We have a verdict!” The familiar cry from the court officer echoes through the empty hallways of the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn as I sit alone trying to focus on accumulated emails. Scrambling to my feet, I...more
The courtroom trial is one setting where lawyers feel they can sometimes dial up the dramatic delivery. In the hands of some, that liberty can lead to an overbearing style. One question with the newer Zoom environments is...more
Virtual civil jury trials will be scheduled statewide in New Jersey starting April 5, 2021, with consent to proceed remotely not required as part of the state’s two-phase approach to virtual jury trials for all dockets and...more
At the beginning of 2020, arguing hearings and trying cases in a completely remote environment seemed like science fiction. Now, just a year later, courts and litigants have adapted to our new virtual litigation environment....more
It has gone from being a surprising observation last spring to a daily truism at this point: Zoom fatigue is real. Now that we are engaged in regular meetings by video web-conferencing, we’ve come to fully grasp the reality...more
At this point, I will wager that we’ve all seen the hilarious video from the 394th Judicial District Court of Texas, where an attorney, unable to remove a filter that changes his face into a cat’s, nonetheless confirms that...more
When getting ready to try a case, there are many activities you need to do to prepare, including witness preparation, organizing your evidence and crafting your message to the jury. When it comes to serial litigation, these...more