Time after time, what I discover
in jury debriefings is that jurors don’t like being “interrogated” during voir
dire. They don’t mind being questioned, but they heartily dislike attorney
attempts to force answers out of them and especially resent…

 It’s often said that the practice of law would be great if
it weren’t for clients. Clients, of course, are what drive your business, so
like it or not, part of a successful practice is learning how to deal…

 When prospective jurors walk into the courtroom, they only
know one thing for sure: the courtroom is His/Her Honor’s private reserve, and
the Judge’s word is law. Everything about the physical layout of the courtroom
says “In this room,…

 The question of whether to trust our logic or trust our emotions is rarely brought up in the context of legal matters, at least not from the lawyer’s point of view. Certainly, we discuss endlessly how this or that…

Despite the best efforts of all involved, jury instructions remain obscure and confusing to all but the most legalese-savvy jurors. Cases should be won or lost on their merits, but too often, cases are lost (or unsatisfactory verdicts obtained) because…

 Witnesses are nervous enough already at the thought of testifying. Being loaded down with 10 body-language directives from well-meaning attorneys doesn’t necessarily enhance their testimony.I have found that one simple directive ‘fixes’ a whole host of body-language problems. That…

 Jurors will not find for what they don’t understand. Simple, right? Yet laying your case out in such a way that jurors readily understand its ins and outs can be more challenging than it at first appears. You see,…