Associated Press reports that a lawyer employed by Baxter International, Inc, a major manufacturer of intravenous drugs and medical devices, tried to pay an opposing expert in a lawsuit if he would leave the country on a key court date. The expert caught the offer on tape. Baxter’s response: "The…
Here is a fascinating article about a handwriting expert from Houston that assists lawyers in jury selection. The expert is Alice Weiser, author of Judge the Jury: Experience the Power of Reading People. An excerpt: "Weiser said that people who make little circle dots above the letter "i" are individual and unique,…
Facebook – a leading source for informal discovery in personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Now, the ABA Journal reports that a $10+million verdict is threatened because of a Facebook issue. The defendant in the case has alleged that plaintiff’s counsel instructed a plaintiff to delete information from a Facebook…
On Saturday, July 9, 2011 I was very fortunate to be asked to speak at the Pound Civil Justice Institute ‘s 2011 Forum for State Appellate Court Judges in New York City. This year’s program concerned the huge reduction in civil jury trials in our state and federal court and the…
Winning Trial Advocacy Tips is back, this time with a post giving great suggestions on how to make sure your jury sees and hears your evidence. An excerpt: 1. How to guarantee that the jury hears every word of your recorded statement. As you start playing the audio recording, cup your…
Many personal injury lawyers are looking for ways to improve access to data during voir dire. Here is an article that discusses the use of the IPad during jury selection. The article includes a video that reviews two software products for the IPad. The IPad is amazing but I don’t…
Jessica Brylo has written an very interesting article about obtaining services of trial consultants when money is tight. The article has a summary on the services that consultants provide and then offers suggestions about how to reduce the cost of the services while still have access to the expertise of…
Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips has this wonderful post on the injecting basic safety principles into cross-examination. An excerpt: ELIMINATING OR MINIMIZING RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH 1. TRUE THAT [defendant company] SHOULD HOLD PARAMOUNT THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF IT’S WORKERS? 2. AGREE WITH THE PROPOSITION THAT: ANY…
Steve Frederick had trial consultant Becky Jones (of Modlin and Jones) share 10 tips on trial presentations. Here they are: Don’t ramble. Get to the point. Be concise. Don’t keep repeating what other witnesses have said. When every fact is repeated, no fact is important. Be assertive without being offensive…
The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly magazine has published an interesting article about jury questionnaires. The authors of the article are John P. Daniels and Annie L. Knafo. The article includes a sample questionnaire that can serve as a starting point for drafting your own. Read the…