Ask for What You Want
How many times a day do you ask judges, clients, or co-workers to do something or to give you something? During any given week, you probably make hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of requests. You ask your co-worker to work on a project, you ask your assistant to handle a client issue, you ask your kids to help with the dishes… The number of requests that you make each week is staggering. But how many of those requests are actually granted? Have you ever had a problem with someone not doing not what...
Read MoreWhich Jurors are Lying to You?
How honest are your potential jurors? I don’t know about you, but in the past, I’ve seen more than my fair share jurors who lie. And the sad part is, there doesn’t seem to be any guaranteed way to catch them. In a two week span, I selected juries for five different cases. And in almost every single case, at least one juror lied to me, my opponent, or the court. In criminal cases, one of the issues we almost always inquire about is whether any of the jurors have ever been...
Read MoreBecome 3x More Persuasive
Veni. Vidi. Vici. Friends. Romans. Countrymen. Snap. Crackle. Pop. For whatever reason, your brain is wired to pay more attention when provided with a list of three options. Your brain will be persuaded more easily when provided with a list of three arguments, and you’re more likely to take action if you’re given three reasons to do something. For our brains, three is the magic number. Not two (“Too few!”) Not four (“Too...
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” email that proves the...
Read MoreExhibits and Adverse Witnesses
Yesterday I was watching the Casey Anthony case and I saw a classic example of what you’d call an “antagonistic” witnesss. During opening statements, the defense attorney accused the defendant’s father of sexually molesting her when she was 8 years old and said that the father was involved in covering up the death of his 3 year old grand daughter. As you can imagine, the father wasn’t too happy about it. Now, one day later, the father is on the witness stand (for the second time)...
Read MoreResources for Trial Lawyers
