Trial Lawyers: Choose Your Next Word Carefully!
After three years of law school, you’re expected to be a wordsmith. You make your living with words, so it’s important to choose your words carefully when speaking to judges and jurors. You want to avoid words that invoke resistance from jurors, and choose words that make it easy for them to buy. Today you’re going to begin building the vocabulary list for your trial. Your vocabulary list will include the preferred words that you’ll purposely use in trial (because they best tell your...
Read MoreThe Most Dangerous Word in a Trial Lawyer’s Vocabulary
Do you know what the most dangerous word in your vocabulary is? You say it all the time. It’s the most commonly used word in the English language. If you listen to any conversation, especially conversations between lawyers, you’ll hear this word more often than any other. More than any other, this word leads to claims of improper argument and unprofessional conduct. Which word is it? “I.” That’s right – “I.” The shortest word in the dictionary is also the most dangerous. ...
Read MoreCan Jurors See and Hear Your Most Important Evidence?
If you try enough cases, you’ll eventually get your hands on “It.” “It” is that amazing piece of evidence that makes or breaks your case. “It” takes on many different forms: The “Are you lying then or are you lying now?” prior inconsistent statement The “I did it, and I’d do it again!” confession The video of the “disabled” plaintiff easily lifting 50 lb. bags of mulch or participating in semi-professional wrestling matches The “smoking gun”...
Read MoreThe Judge has Spoken… But Did You Get a Ruling?
Judges are just like everyone else: They hate to be told, “You’re wrong.” In fact, some judges are so afraid of having their rulings overturned by the appellate courts that they’ve decided to take an easy way out: They’ve stopped making rulings! After all, if there isn’t a ruling, there’s nothing for the appellate court to overturn, right? Here’s a typical scenario: Attorney #1: What happened at the executive council meeting? Witness: Well, I heard that… Attorney #2: Objection!...
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