Closing Arguments: Focus and Organization
Closing Argument: Opportunity and Challenge
How to Make Clear, Quick and Effective Objections
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The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 42 - AI in Criminal Justice: Opportunity or Opportunity for Misuse?
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Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Universal Injunctions, Associational Standing, and Forum Shopping - Their Effects on Legal Challenges to Regulations
Podcast - Impeaching with a Deposition
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
Podcast - Cross-Examination: Don't Argue - Elicit Facts
Cross-Examination: Asking the Right Leading Questions
AGG Talks: Home Health & Hospice - Lessons Learned From ALJ Hospice Audit Appeals
Prelude to the Business Court and 15th Court of Appeals: More Questions Than Answers | Tyler Talbert | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Podcast - Cross-Examination: The Importance of Organization
In this episode of "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast, Partner Dan Small shares insights on crafting persuasive closing arguments. Mr. Small emphasizes the importance of organization, preparation and effective time...more
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 "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small discusses the complexities attorneys face in crafting an effective opening statement during a trial. He tackles common challenges...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
In the first episode of his "The Trial Lawyer's Handbook" podcast series, litigation attorney Dan Small breaks down the unwritten rules of trial practice that must be learned through experience and observation over time. Mr....more
Sidley Austin Partner Jennifer Saulino joins IMS Jury Consulting & Strategy Advisor Dr. Christina Marinakis to discuss their work on a recent product liability case and share insights on the goals of jury research, voir dire...more
Analyzed by legal scholars, cited as precedent for modern international law and medical ethics, and depicted in movies, the tale of the Nuremberg Trials imparts wisdom, reveals uncomfortable truths about the human condition...more
I had the privilege to collect the following “war stories” for Pro Te: Solutio. Our goal was to demonstrate the wide range of litigation experience we have at Butler Snow, but as I heard these stories, I found them to be so...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
In 2018 I prosecuted a criminal contempt action in a state court civil proceeding. The contempt action was very difficult for my clients, my law firm, my family, the courts, and opposing counsel. For the first time in my...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
Maybe it is because monitors are a lot less expensive than they used to be, but I’m seeing more and more of them cropping up, often in the same places. Conference rooms or spaces for larger presentations that used to have a...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
This is the general sentiment I sometimes hear when one side in an opening statement is talking about the other side’s experts...more
We know that movie viewers love a plot twist. A surprising turn of events can make a movie memorable, and in films like “The Usual Suspects,” or “The Sixth Sense,” your understanding and perspective on a story can suddenly...more
We have all used them. It might be a repeated word or phrase like, “I would say,” “it seems to me that,” or “like.” It might be a repeated sound like “uh,” “um,” “ah,” or “er.” Not all of the speech is content; some of it is...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
The habit of sort of just filling in your speech with expressions of uncertainty, when you’re not really that uncertain, is probably a bad habit. I mean, I am fairly sure that these hedges cut down on your perceived...more
You’ve probably seen the claim, but is it really true that our attention spans are becoming shorter than that of a goldfish? Last year, the presentation software company called Prezi released its 2018 State of Attention...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
There’s a cartoon that shows a the philosopher, Plato, sitting on the grass of Athens with a modern-day politician (variously, it is Karl Rove or Donald Trump), with the latter character saying to Plato, “But surely you agree...more
Trial advocacy is a mix of law and theater, requiring a lawyer to know both the law and their audience. Attorneys must effectively argue their client’s case using the evidence and the jury instructions to show their client is...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
In the days leading up to trial, you wrestle with the task of creating an opening statement in a complex case. Of course, you remember the core advice from your very first trial advocacy class, but the sheer complexity at...more
Next time you’re in a public place, look around at all the people and what they’re doing. Looking at their phones? Yes! Nearly all of them. Now, some might be working. Some could be keeping up on the news or reading great...more