By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Every trial lawyer I know believes that they are adapting their communication in order to get the jury — or, for that matter, the judge — to understand. At the same time, they will still try to be concise, correct, and specific. Sometimes, the competing demands can lead lawyers into speaking […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Sometimes in civil cases, the plaintiff’s liability claim is opportunistic, wishful, or factually weak. Other times, it is real. Someone didn’t do their job, a danger was missed, or — in that Olympic champion of passive-voice phrases — “mistakes were made.” In this situation, the question of whether to contest or […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: When it comes to the delicate task of preparing a witness for deposition or trial, everyone has their own style. It is also true that every witness will have their own needs. Some know the drill already and just need to discuss the facts, while others can be uncertain, stressed, or […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: I have long believed that persuaders of all stripes, including courtroom persuaders, can learn a lot of lessons from political communication. The dialogue over the leadership and direction of the country can be a gold mine: It’s national, it provides a wealth of examples good and bad, and — particularly recently […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: Of all the areas of legal lore, perhaps none are more loaded down with mystique than jury selection. Attorneys with long experience will develop some pretty solid views, and those habits on who they’re looking to seat and who they’re looking to strike can create a baked-in preference independent of the […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: In addition to making their views known at the ballot box, citizens can similarly broadcast their sentiments in the civil jury box. While they’re asked to merely make a factual finding limited to a specific dispute, the verdicts can read as a more generalized message about their feelings about the state […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: It has become more commonplace to hear talk about a future of litigation without peremptory strikes. After all, Arizona in 2022 was the first state to eliminate strikes in all cases, and it may not be the last. California and Washington have moved to revised schemes for exercising strikes, relying not […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: At last week’s Presidential debate, incumbent Joe Biden performed about as poorly as the worst predictions. In the panicked aftermath, calls have mounted for the 81-year-old President to gracefully exit his party’s nomination stage in order to allow fresher leaders to take his place. Part of the reaction was certainly based […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: For a little over a year, the world has been abuzz with the experience of accessible artificial intelligence, and overflowing with speculation on the many ways it will change the ways we live and work. For law, a field that specializes in the use of language, there has been an inevitable […]
By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: As civil jury trials continue to become more scarce, the need to reasonably assess what result a jury would return in trial becomes even more important. Even when the trial does not happen — especially when it does not happen – clients, counsel, and insurers need a rational way to ground […]