Archives – Page 28 – The Red Well

Fronting Money for Clients

July 14th, 2022|

One thing we learned the hard way, many years ago, is that advancing money on behalf a client is risky. On one of our first cases, we were given the verbal go ahead by an associate level attorney whose boss had told him to do so. We were very excited to work with this attorney, whom we had known for about 2 years. He was an interesting guy, a successful plaintiff’s lawyer, and we’d talked directly with him about the case. I wrote a check to our jury recruiter, advancing the up front cost to the recruiter on behalf of

The Online Courtroom: Hybrid and Remote Trial Considerations — PART 3 (Look at Me!)

July 11th, 2022|

Bad Hair Day, Messy Hotel Room DayNOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials.When is the last time you joined a Zoom meeting, only to realize the total disaster you were displaying to everyone? Maybe you're having a bad hair day, messy background day, or even a sun-suddenly-broke-through-the-clouds-and-started-blazing-in-through-the-window-directly-behind-you-as-soon-as-you-turned-on-your-webcam-day. Hey, things happen. But -- many of these little disasters are actually preventable.You might already know there are settings you can use to allow or prevent your webcam

When does juror exposure to negative pre-trial publicity affect deliberations? Online Jury Research Update

July 11th, 2022|

Pre-trial publicity (PTP) related to a case often is both sided and slanted, emphasizing primarily negative information in an unbalanced manner about either the defendant or the injured party. Ruva and Guenther (2017) examined how juries made up of jurors exposed to various types of negative pre-trial publicity differ in their deliberations and decision-making from juries comprised of jurors exposed either to no PTP or only one type of PTP....

Do jurors distinguish illustrative and substantive demonstratives when awarding damages? Online Jury Research Update

July 6th, 2022|

Evidence can be presented to jurors both verbally and visually, and if visual, as either an illustrative or substantative demonstrative. A substantive demonstrative has independent probative force, providing independent proof of a fact at issue in the case. Illustrative aids give visual form to other evidence, but provide no independent proof of that other evidence. Park and Feigenson (2021) conducted three studies that examined the effects of demonstrative evidence on mock jurors' pain and suffering damage awards....

The Online Courtroom: Hybrid and Remote Trial Considerations — PART 2 (Lights, ___, Action)

July 3rd, 2022|

NOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials.Cameras are the only new major component needed to enable hybrid trials, which have quickly become the most common format. With skyrocketing travel costs, it makes economic sense to have a witness appear remotely from another part of the country -- or even from another country. Even a daily commute can be avoided by many members of a trial team, allowing those back at the war room to watch

The Online Courtroom: Hybrid and Remote Trial Considerations — PART 1

June 27th, 2022|

Order "The Online Courtroom"NOTE: This series will cover what happened, how we've adjusted, where we are now, and where we're headed. We will also offer numerous tips, tricks, and best practices for hybrid and remote trials. Looking back at our trial calendar, I added a note on March 9, 2020: COVID-19 BUSINESS STOP. I was at home in Southern California's South Bay (I also have a home office in the East Bay Area in Northern California), and the next important note I see is on March 27, 2020: BEACHES AND PIER CLOSED. Now, it's certainly a big deal when all the

Need to Talk About Race in Trial? Watch for Language Polarization

June 27th, 2022|

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There are a number of scenarios where race might matter to your case. Most obviously in the civil realm, these could be employment cases, police use of force cases, or claims involving unequal medical care or testing. In any number of other cases, race could come up as a factor that matters in the experience of your potential jurors. So trial lawyers need to be able to talk about race with some sensitivity. We know that the situation is primed for misunderstanding and defensiveness, and new research provides another example. A recent article in the publication

Stealing Thunder: Know When to Preempt and When to Wait

June 20th, 2022|

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When the other side has a powerful potential argument, but you get to go first, then you have a strategic call to make. Do you use the opportunity to get there first, address the issue before they can, and steal their thunder? Or do you wait them out, see what they have, and respond only after they’ve raised the issue? That question will come up in many scenarios. If you’re a plaintiff, then you are always deciding how much of the expected defense to address in opening and in your case. Or if you are

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

June 16th, 2022|

“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” is a phrase used to suggest one should relax, chill out, and not worry about the little things, things which sometime seem out of one’s control. Well, that’s great. But, our “day job” as trial consultants doesn’t allow it. Neither does my prior advocation, photography. For example, when photographing people at events, the photographer has to watch the person’s expression; if it is a group of people, it is even more challenging. The photographer has to look at the eyes, the smiles, the hands, feet, etc. Ensuring things are in focus and that there

Defend Your Product Testing Regimen: Seven Standards

June 13th, 2022|

By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When you test a product to assess its performance and safety, of course you have very substantive reasons for doing that: You are aiming to check effectiveness, prevent harm, and protect the brand. When a trial occurs, however, that testing carries a symbolic message as well, with the message being that the manufacturer and seller is caring, careful, and serious. Even if something went wrong, and even if in hindsight there was some element that was incomplete in the testing, it still bolsters the company’s trial message to show that it has a comprehensive focus