When You Concede Liability, Make Sure You Concede With Benefits

August 20th, 2024|

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 […]

Profile Your Nuclear Juror (Based on the Research)

July 16th, 2024|

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 […]

Fight (Constitutionally) for Your Peremptory Strikes

July 9th, 2024|

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 […]

Learn from Joe Biden’s Debate Destruction: 5 Nonverbal Don’ts

July 2nd, 2024|

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 […]

Stop Speculating on Your Damages Exposure

June 18th, 2024|

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 […]

Message Discipline: Opt for Fewer, Better Reasons

June 10th, 2024|

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm: With the news world still abuzz with implications of former President Trump’s 34 felony convictions and impending sentencing in New York, we are left to wonder about the effectiveness of defense attorney Todd Blanche’s closing argument focused on “ten reasons for reasonable doubt.” Some of those reasons had undeniable merit, like […]