May 2020 – The Red Well

Working Remote – Transparency

May 28th, 2020|

In this time of forced social distancing, with many people working remotely from home or on quarantine, I have been using some of my time to make calls or otherwise contact clients about outstanding proposals, etc. I always have a stack of people to call upon, so I’ve been reaching out. The results of these contacts have been enlightening on an issue I hadn’t considered. That is, how lawyers, and their staff, “manage” the impressions they create when working remotely. Melissa and I have, for a long time, worked remotely. Our “real” work always has a remote component when

What’s Your Superpower? Barriers for Attorney Presentation in Zoom Depositions

May 27th, 2020|

By Jill D. Schmid, Ph.D. For years, I’ve successfully avoided Facetime calls and most video conferences. However, around 9 weeks, 2 days, 13 hours, and 42 minutes ago, that all changed. Not only did all of my work transition to video conferences, but so did my communication with my family and friends. Houseparty and Zoom are my new normal and I have to say, it’s not all bad! Yes, there are all the headaches we’ve known about for years: everyone talking over each other, followed by silence as everyone stops to let others continue; the frozen feed followed by everyone

When Can Reframing Create Juror Backlash?

May 27th, 2020|

Say you represent a company that makes a product people widely have negative opinions about. Luckily, you come up with a different description of the product that makes it sound more positive: For example, your client is in the vaping industry and you want jurors to think of vape pens in a positive light. To accomplish this, you might describe vaping as “healthy” or call a vape pen a “smoking cessation device” – despite the fact that the cartridge at issue contains nicotine. Or perhaps your client used asbestos in its product, so you use the phrase “insulation material” rather

Season Finale of “All Rise” vs ZOOM Play “What Do We Need To Talk About?”

May 27th, 2020|

By Katherine James Normally I wouldn’t be comparing a television series to a stage play. But we aren’t living in normal times, are we? From both my point of view as a theatre person and my point of view as a trial consultant I am spending a ton of time in the brave new virtual world of ZOOM. I’ve been preparing witnesses virtually for almost 10 years – so the format is really familiar as I continue that part of my world. What is completely unfamiliar is working in the live theatre via ZOOM. At this point I’ve had

The Truth Told Well and Medical Care Plus Medical Caring: Medical Malpractice Witness Preparation

May 21st, 2020|

I recently presented to a national medical insurance organization as part of a panel concerned with the explosion in medical malpractice jury verdicts in recent years. The panel, “Buckle Up for a Bumpy Ride…Navigat[ing] Social Inflation Turbulence,” focused on identifying some of the key influences behind the rise of these larger medical malpractice jury verdicts and providing insight on practical prescriptions to the problem. The consensus on the panel was that: (1) the social inflation in a medical malpractice verdict is not only trending, but rose sharply in 2019; (2) that the role of jury demography – and specifically

WARNING: Be Wary of Research About How the Pandemic Impacts Jury Decision-Making

May 20th, 2020|

By Thomas M. O’Toole, Ph.D. It is the question on every litigator’s mind: What impact, if any, will the pandemic have on jury decision-making once trials resume? Will there be more goodwill towards businesses because of the economic toll the pandemic has taken? Will perceptions of a widening rich/poor gap perpetuate social inflation and nuclear verdicts? The questions go on and on and it is important to have answers to them. I expect that many organizations will purport to have those answers, but those answers might be misleading or flat-out wrong for one very important reason. While everyone wants to

An Insider’s Guide to the Operations and Methods of NPEs

May 15th, 2020|

NPEs are well-positioned to take advantage of the economic fallout on the patent market due to the impact of COVID-19. In Book One of our new e-book series, we look at the NPE acquisition outlook for 2020 in light of the ongoing financial crisis. Download the free e-book, “The Impact of Economic Distress on Patent Availability to NPEs.” The post An Insider’s Guide to the Operations and Methods of NPEs appeared first on DOAR.

The Important Connection between September 11, COVID-19, and Jury Decision-Making

May 14th, 2020|

By Thomas M. O’Toole, Ph.D. As the country starts to re-open and jury trials resume, it is our job to research and understand what impact the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders that lasted over two months in some states will have on how jurors evaluate liability and damages going forward. There are many ways to approach this kind of research. For example, we just completed on of the largest surveys we have ever conducted in order to get specific answers to some of the questions we know attorneys and general counsel will have. We are currently in the process of

PowerPoint’s Clipboard Tool: Copying Slides Between Trial Presentations with Ease

May 13th, 2020|

A common challenge our clients face is resolving problems created when moving slides from one PowerPoint presentation to another. Most of the time it works well enough – but occasionally, copying from one presentation and pasting into another can completely mess up your fonts, colors, and more. Results range from ugly to borderline illegible, depending on the degree of difference between the source and destination decks. This post will show you, step by step, how to undo those unwanted changes and use the PowerPoint Clipboard tool to re-paste your slides the way you intended them to look. Using PowerPoint’s Clipboard

Don’t Forget About Ethos

May 8th, 2020|

Dr. Anthony Fauci has it all. From a standpoint of persuasion and credibility, he is the full package, whose presence at a podium jumps beyond his modest 5’ 8” frame. In a recent poll conducted by the University of Northern Florida, Dr. Fauci had the approval of 85% of registered Florida voters, nearly doubling that of the President’s approval as a reliable source of information. Dr. Fauci is straightforward but calm, expert but accessible, serious but pleasant, authoritative but likable. Just the other day, in the White House press briefing, he made a passionate appeal (pathos) about social distancing based