The Future of Litigation: Adapting to the Era of Nuclear Verdicts
How Do Litigators Build the Perfect Jury in a Polarized World? – Speaking of Litigation Video Podcast
Podcast - Think Outside the Script
Targeting Safetyism in Defense Voir Dire | Episode 71
Openings of Openings
Why Demonstrative Aids Are Critical in Every Case
How Safetyism Is Driving High Plaintiff Verdicts - IMS Insights Podcast Episode 68
How Voir Dire Fits with Appellate Practice | Robert Swafford | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
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
There is a perspective on juror attitudes that has been receiving some attention lately. “Safetyism” refers to an individual’s tendency to not merely prefer safety, but to demand unrealistic standards of protection — no...more
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
Data compiled by the American Transportation Research Institute shows that lawsuits targeting the trucking industry have increased at an exponential pace, seen in both the volume of cases and the size of verdict awards. When...more
There are a number of scenarios where race might matter to your case. Most obviously in the civil realm, these could be employment cases, police use of force cases, or claims involving unequal medical care or testing. In any...more
SAN DIEGO (March 14, 2022) – The inaugural Nuclear Verdicts Defense Institute will take place June 23-26, 2022, in San Diego, led by an esteemed faculty of legal defense experts, including top trial attorneys, a specialist in...more
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
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
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
The simplest way to think about persuasion is as a transaction: You step up and make your best pitch, and then your target audience either accepts it or doesn’t. The conversational way of talking about whether our audience...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
Thanks to Batson and associated cases, we now have an uneasy working rule on voir dire in U.S. courtrooms: In exercising peremptory strikes, you can pick and choose on any basis…other than discriminatory ones. Basing strikes...more
Join Robins Kaplan For Trial Advocacy 2018: Pulling The Curtain Back on October 9th, in Minneapolis, MN. ...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