Blog Viewer

Litigation Tips from Across the Country

By Lisa F. Geherin posted 10-04-2016 08:43

  

Do you have a favorite tip to share? Is it one that you learned from a prior mentor or one that you gleaned after a major victory or grueling defeat? From trial prep to case strategy, these tips gathered from around the county are sure to improve your litigation practice.

    1. Have a theme of your case for trial. While this is not a new tip, Frank Goldstein, in an interview with Law 360, says he “makes a point of selecting well-known phrases from media or pop culture sources to encapsulate his cases.” One such catchphrase Goldstein used in a fraud case involving a health clinic that provided unnecessary treatment was “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave,” a famous lyric from the Eagles’ hit “Hotel California."
    2. Make sure your expert doesn’t sound like an expert. According to litigation and trial consultant Merrie Jo Pitera, PhD, in an interview with The Jury Expert, experts who speak using jargon or specific high-level phrases “come across as arrogant, and jurors have a difficult time relating to them.” Rather, she advises, “[c]oach your witness to teach a concept in the way a fifth grader could understand without sounding condescending.” The best way to do this? Practice, practice, practice. 
    3. Don’t lose sight of the big picture in trial prep. This is one of the most practical tips and is equally applicable to motion hearings. In their "New Litigator's Guide," originally published in Law 360 and now found on their firm's website, Renee Miller and Cabell Clay comment that “[i]n the weeks leading up to trial, it is easy to get lost in every minute detail of your case.” The best way to avoid being sucked into the details is to “create a simple checklist of key facts or concepts that must be presented at trial to win your case.” This practice makes it easier to succinctly explain the case to the jury too.
    4. Simplify. “If there is a way to streamline and simplify, then you should,” says Michael Sitzman, partner at Gibson Dunn, in a Law Practice Today article. While his advice is targeted at new lawyers, even experienced litigators can benefit from this lesson. He explains that “[l]itigators in the early years of their career seem to get overwhelmed with the number of questions they can ask a witness, the number of arguments they can fashion …, or the number of documents that establish a simple fact,” adding, “[t]here is no reason to make ten arguments in support of your motion if the first two are your strongest."
    5. Watch the jury to see how you are doing. In his articleTop 10 Fundamental Jury Trial Practice Tips,Daniel Bryson of Whitfield Bryson & Mason, LLP, comments that although this seems like “common sense,” he's “noticed that once trial begins and the bullets start to fly, most attorneys don’t observe their jury closely enough.” “Their facial expressions tell you whether they like you or your witness,” he says, and if they don’t make eye contact with you when they come to announce the verdict, “it’s usually a bad sign.”

0 comments
162 views

Permalink