As a corporate defendant, does it help or hurt to apologize for past conduct? Does it show weakness? Fault? Honesty? Sincerity? Well, it all depends on the case. Just take a look at mock jurors’ very different reactions to two different defendants saying, “We’re sorry.” Juror A: “They have done nothing to address the problems […] The post Should My Client Say “I’m Sorry”? appeared first on Litigation Insights.
Courtrooms new and old across the United States are being outfitted with some of the latest audiovisual equipment. Lots of time and money have been spent planning the best equipment to install, where to install it and how the judge will control it. With that said, the setup is often designed around the judge’s view […] The post Does Court-Provided Audiovisual Equipment Help or Hinder? appeared first on Litigation Insights.
The Problem As we know all too well, plaintiffs often have a ready-made underdog tale in civil trials: David (their client) against Goliath (your client). And nobody roots for Goliath. That’s strike one against you, before you even start. Add in the fact that many jurors assume your client must have done something wrong if […] The post Why Storytelling is Your Best Defense appeared first on Litigation Insights.
Millennials – the generation born between roughly 1980 and 2000 – are showing up in large numbers to perform their civic duty. In fact, this year alone we’ve had several trials in which the post-hardship jury pool was nearly 50% or more Millennial after hardships. More importantly, in two very recent trials, a Millennial served […] The post A Millennial Could Be Your Next Jury Foreperson appeared first on Litigation Insights.
Stanford psychologist Amos Tversky and others have proposed that learners rely on mentally efficient strategies when evaluating new information. It is believed these mental shortcuts allow people to make decisions quickly – a necessity in a fast-paced world – but sometimes at the cost of accuracy in decision-making1 (you can read more about how this […] The post Why Are Graphics So Compelling in the Courtroom? appeared first on Litigation Insights.
As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, eliciting bias and obtaining cause challenges should be the primary objectives of voir dire. Each juror you are able to remove for cause is essentially equivalent to having an additional peremptory strike that your opponent does not. Indeed, a successful voir dire should tilt the playing field in your […] The post Maximizing Cause Strikes: How Do I Get Jurors to Say They Can’t be Fair? appeared first on Litigation Insights.
It’s widely accepted that visuals in the courtroom are a powerful storytelling device. We prefer to say that they can be powerful. The actual efficacy of any trial graphic, in fact, hinges on an understanding of how people learn from multimedia presentations. Our clients often ask us why animations and graphics are so persuasive in […] The post How Do I Maximize Jury Comprehension Using Animation? appeared first on Litigation Insights.
Lately, we have received several questions from male clients regarding jurors’ impressions of beards. Do they make an attorney look more distinguished? Does a beard add credibility or hurt it? Jurors have many cues to use when evaluating the credibility of an attorney, and physical appearance is certainly one of those cues. So, based on […] The post Should I Shave My Beard Before Trial appeared first on Litigation Insights.
With just a few days left in 2016 we wanted to take one last look back on what made 2016 a great year for us and what our readers and clients found most helpful. The blogs from Litigation Insights listed below were the most read articles in 2016. As we look back to what our […] The post Top Ten Blog Insights from 2016 appeared first on Litigation Insights.
What matters more – jurors’ discrimination experiences or their attitudes? Or are both critical? Imagine you are in jury selection and have a juror who directly experienced workplace discrimination. You have another juror who has witnessed others’ experience with workplace discrimination. And yet another who harbors the belief that gender discrimination is ingrained in today’s […] The post How Jurors’ Attitudes About Gender and Age Discrimination in the Workplace Affect Your Case appeared first on Litigation Insights.