Podcast: Don't Just Say It – Show It
Podcast - Finding Common Ground
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 504: Listen and Learn -- Motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Motions for New Trial (Civ Pro)
Podcast - "Ready for Trial?"
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 311: Spotlight on Criminal Law (Part 1)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 310: Listen and Learn -- Accomplice Liability (Criminal Law)
The Future of Litigation: Adapting to the Era of Nuclear Verdicts
Podcast - Every Case Is a New World
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 309: Listen and Learn -- Felony Murder and Causation (Criminal Law)
Podcast - The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Do the Right Thing
The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Tell Your Story
Podcast - The 3 Core Themes of Trial Law: Know Your Court
Podcast - Real Justice for Real People
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 305: Spotlight on Civil Procedure (Part 2 – Discovery)
There Is No Right Path
Mock Jury Exercises: Enhancing Litigation Strategy in Consumer Financial Services Cases — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Eyes on the Evidence: Powerful Legal Presentations – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
Podcast - How Did We Get Here?
Podcast - Parting Thoughts: Be a "Peddler of Common Sense"
Against All Odds- Part Four
Three years of law school can teach us many things. But what they do not do very well—as we typically discover soon after graduating—is prepare us for the actual practice of law. For those of us who always planned to be...more
As any seasoned trial attorney will tell you, one of the key events during a jury trial is the reading of the jury instructions to the jury. During the reading of the instructions, for a lengthy amount of time, the jury hears...more
You don't need us to tell you that trials are increasingly rare. So when heading to trial, trial counsel must know their client's story and must be prepared to tell that story to the trier of fact—a feat that requires...more
The instructions for jurors are clear: They are to take an issue that has no effect on them, listen dispassionately to the evidence and arguments, apply the facts to the law, and make a decision. That is the model, but in...more
Recognizing and reducing bias is obviously essential in a litigation context. But when it comes to “de-biasing,” it helps to see instructions as one tool in the toolbox, but not a tool that’s guaranteed to fix everything. In...more
Texas attorneys know the Pattern Jury Charges as valuable guide to properly instructing a jury at trial. But most don’t know all the work that goes into creating and updating the various volumes. In this episode, Todd Smith...more
Jurors are often put in the position of assessing the probability or risk of something at the time a decision was made, before the consequences can be known. “How likely is it that a given result will be the outcome from a...more
Many litigators recognize the benefits of giving jurors a set of substantive jury instructions before opening arguments. Such preliminary substantive jury instructions are a beneficial and effective tool. This is not a new...more
Traditionally, we might think about what happens in the jury room as a kind of “Black box,” an unknown process with jurors keeping their secrets on how they got to their verdicts. In practice, however, we know a fair amount...more
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
In the real world, disputes are often settled by someone with more or better knowledge, or at least someone claiming to have more or better knowledge. The courtroom, however, is different. It is a setting that is designed to...more
Who is a juror? Experienced legal persuaders know a juror isn’t just a passive receptacle for your arguments, and isn’t just an instrument, a route or obstacle to your preferred verdict in the case. Instead, a juror is fully...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
This will likely be the last piece I write on last month’s trial. We are scheduled to start another trial in January 2018, with additional trials in April and May, and they may gin up some additional insights that I think...more