Litigation-Tech and Abraham Lincoln Share Common Interests

June 8th, 2023|

 Image credit: Al HolguinLitigation-Tech has been around for many years, helping attorneys navigate their way onto the technology highway in the courtroom. We have a lot of stories to tell, but here's some insight from one of our very first clients.Abraham Lincoln was a master of using language to persuade and inform. He was also a skilled storyteller, and he knew how to use visuals to illustrate his points. If he were alive today, he would likely be a big fan of courtroom technology and visuals. There are many ways that courtroom technology can be used to enhance the presentation

For Now, Treat AI as “a Good and Confident Liar”

June 8th, 2023|

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Right now, we are in a liminal moment with technology. No, I’m not talking about the new Apple goggles, necessarily, but about seemingly sudden emergence of engines like ChatGPT, which have opened a lot of possibilities on where it is likely to go. The proverbial jury is out about how and when generative artificial intelligence will be changing our lives. Many seem to prosthelytize a bright future with many human tasks being eased, while many others are issuing dire warnings about reduced human creativity and a slipping grip on reality. Amid the intellectual turmoil, one truly

Paid Versus Free Opinions

June 6th, 2023|

To follow up on my previous post about people asking for my opinions, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. Although it is far from universal, I have observed that people, such as friends and family, who ask for my opinion with no intention of paying me for my time or expertise, often devalue or discount what I have to say. Some of them even go as far as arguing with me when my opinions, based on scientific research, do not comport with their everyday, commonsense, notions. In contrast, most (but certainly not all) of my clients, who pay me for

Pull Your Potential Jurors Out from under the ‘Blanket of Anonymity’

June 5th, 2023|

Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: You’re in the first moments of jury selection, looking at the pool of fresh and still-unknown panelists. At this early phase, those who are talking or itching to talk are, without fail, those who want out: They’re self-employed, have significant work responsibilities coming up, are booked for an upcoming vacation, or all of the above, and they want you and the judge to know it. The rest of the group, however, is settled in, apparently focused on just getting through this exercise with a minimum of attention directed at them. They are keeping quiet and they’re not eager

Pretty Persuasion: Treat Party or Witness Attractiveness as Part of Credibility 

June 1st, 2023|

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It’s probably one of the most unfair biases, but also one of the most ingrained. Human beings prefer attractive people over unattractive people, and that is likely tied to our evolutionary biology. Referred to sometimes as “lookism” the bias confers a number of advantages on those who are socially perceived to be attractive. Ultimately, it boils down to much more than just a preference in partners. There is also a “halo effect” that creates a tendency to attribute a wide variety of other positive traits to those who are viewed as attractive. They’re seen as being

Have I Got a (3-Year) Story for You

June 1st, 2023|

Summary (TL;DR)  Three years ago, A2L Consulting was #1 in all categories, but we were especially known for our trial graphics and jury consulting. We took a three-year break, and now the team is back under a new moniker, Persuadium. We are hard at work with clients as we speak. The backstory is long and eventful but compelling. Read it below, and I would love to hear from you at [email protected], especially if you need persuasive litigation graphics or jury consulting. Persuadium is the new essential element of persuasion. So, what happened? March 5, 2020, 9 pm, pre-lockdown. I am

Stay in Your Lane

May 31st, 2023|

If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it. It's okay to hire someone else who does know what they are doing, but don't waste your own time, your client's money, and potentially your career trying to do things you know nothing about. There are experts for that.Rule 1.1 in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The original Rule 1.1 states: “A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.” Comment 8: Maintaining Competence.“To maintain the requisite knowledge and skill, a lawyer should keep abreast

Do You Want My Opinion or My Tacit Agreement?

May 30th, 2023|

Many people ask me for my opinions. My opinions are solicited by family, friends, and clients, and sometimes, even by strangers. I would go as far as saying I am a professional giver of opinions, in that my clients retain me primarily for my expert opinions and advice about their high stakes lawsuits. Sometimes, however, my friends ask me for my opinion when, in reality, they want me to do nothing more than give my tacit agreement to a course of action upon which they have already decided to embark. A recent experience with a childhood friend brought this,

Does victim crying while testifying affect verdicts in rape cases? | Online Jury Research Update

May 26th, 2023|

When recounting traumatic events, victims often cry, although not always in the courtroom. In the courtroom, some victims are stoic while others are emotional. The 'emotional witness effect' is a phenomenon in which listeners are affected by the emotional manner in which an alleged victim recounts what happened to them. For example, distressed female rape complainants (i.e., those crying or sobbing) are perceived by psychologists, police officers, judges and students to be more credible than controlled or neutral rape complainants (Nitschke et al., 2019). Do jurors similarly find alleged rape victims who cry to be more credible? do jurors respond

Assessing Your Jurors’ Politics? Look for Conspiracy Thinking As Well

May 25th, 2023|

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: When it comes to sizing up our potential jurors, we are used to looking at their politics. Both conventional wisdom and practical experience suggest that conservatives are more likely to prioritize individual responsibility while liberals focus on social responsibility. That means that in many cases — not all, but many — political leaning plays a role in how a juror might assign responsibility in a civil case. Increasingly, though, there is a need to look beyond the liberal/conservative binary to see meaningful divisions within the two sides of the spectrum. Particularly among Republicans, there is an