Want to make witnesses hate you?
If I had to add it all up, I know that I’ve logged more than 10,000 hours in the courtroom. Between jury trials, non-jury trials, motion hearings, docket soundings, conference meetings, status checks, plea hearings, and miscellaneous courtroom arguments, I have spent a lot of time in a lot of courtrooms. I’ve been the lead trial lawyer on cases, sat second chair, been a witness, been called for jury duty, and even put on the robe to judge mock trials and teen court. With all of that...
Read MoreShould Trial Lawyers Ever Stipulate?
The case was serious. The charge? Attempted Murder with a Firearm. The defendant was accused of shooting the victim in the head, and he was facing a potential sentence of life in prison. You would think that because its seriousness, my opponent and I would be fighting over every single issue in the case. But nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, we were standing in the hallway behind the courtroom, talking with the judge and telling him that we were stipulating to nearly every material fact...
Read MoreThe Importance of Listening During Direct Examination
It was a serious DUI accident, and the issue was whether or not the jury would be allowed to hear the results of the defendant’s blood alcohol level test. If the blood test results were deemed inadmissible, the plaintiff’s case would be significantly weakened, so both sides were extremely well prepared for the hearing. The defense was the moving party, so they bore the initial burden of persuasion. For their first witness, they called a toxicologist, and started with the routine questions...
Read MoreClosing Argument Conversations
Recently I was helping a friend draft a cover letter. If you’ve ever spent much time reading resumes and cover letters, you know that most of them say something along the lines of, “Me! Me! Me! I’m awesome! I’m amazing! I’m the best!” But here’s the problem… Employers don’t care about you. They don’t care how awesome you are, how smart you are, or how skilled you are. What they really care about is what you can do for them. They want to...
Read MoreResources for Trial Lawyers
