The Trial Practice Tips Weblog

Litigators: Excel at the Basics

Here's a good post from Max Kennerly at Litigation & Trial: "How To Excel At The Basics As A Young Litigator," which includes a list of five "basics" and tips for excelling at each.

During a Trial: What's Important and What's Not?

From the Wisconsin Law Journal: "Trial Techniques: What lawyers should (and shouldn’t) worry about in the courtroom," by Alexandra Rudolph--

As the owner of a Chicago jury research firm, I’ve seen a number of lawyers make the same mistakes and misjudgments countless times over the years.

In my experience, attorneys spend too much time worrying about things they can’t control, such as opinions expressed during jury selection, and too little time considering how their trial team appears to the court or what a judge might find most helpful.

Rudolph goes on to list "things to stop worrying about," with explanation--

• Whether jurors will be turned off by use of technology;
• How the jury will react to a witness who seems to have been prepared to testify by a lawyer;
• Whether comments made during jury selection have tainted the jury;
• How a jury will respond to an expert who makes small admissions that seem to bolster the other side's case.

What's really worth worrying about? According to Rudolph--

• Technology misfires;
• A disjointed trial team;
• Whether you have sufficiently educated the judge;
• Whether you have clearly communicated with the jury throughout the trial.

You can read Rudolph's full article, with its explanatory text, at the link.

Free Law-Related Articles, Many Excerpted from Books

For free law-related articles from James Publishing, just follow the link and browse the list of articles on the right side, including--

• Residential slip-and-falls, with deposition outlines;
• Auto accident depositions;
• Model interrogatories; and
• Employment evidence.

You'll also find free form collections (e.g., employment discrimination and defense doctor depositions), free pamphlets, and free mini-courses.

James Publishing also publishes my book, Deposition Checklists and Strategies.

Spotting Liars: A New Technique

Trial lawyers are in the business of spotting liars, but I'm not sure whether this new approach, as described in Psychology Today, will have any practical applications in depositions or at trial. But here's the link all the same:"If You Want to Catch a Liar, Make Him Draw." You can judge for yourself.

Related posts at Trial Practice Tips:

1. Practice Tip: Assume Your Deposition Witness Is Lying

2. Cross-Examining the Liar at Trial: Two Absolute Prerequisites

3. Deposition Tip: Help with Sniffing Out the Liars

Illinois News: New Rules of Evidence

The Illinois Supreme Court has approved Illinois Rules of Evidence, which will be effective January 1, 2011.

Some sources for learning about the Illinois Rules of Evidence--

• From the Illinois Supreme Court's website, the new Illinois Rules of Evidence;
• From Illinois Lawyer Now: "Supreme Court Approves Illinois Rules of Evidence." 

 

Civility and Litigation

There's a good article about civility in this month's Illinois Bar Journal: "Uncivil Action," by Helen W. Gunnarsson.

Some tips from the lawyers interviewed for the article:

• It's a waste of time to try to outbully a bully; make a decision not to respond to incivility with incivility;
• You can't reform the small percentage of lawyers who use incivility as a litigation tool; those lawyers, though, will become known for their incivility, which will tend to make it harder for their strategy to work;
• Your own bad behavior will come back to bite you; always treat people with courtesy, even when they're inept at doing it themselves.

Here's my own tip: get more sleep. In my experience, many of the ugly outbursts I've witnessed at depositions, which often lead to apologies later, are caused by stress exacerbated by lack of sleep.

Under Consideration: Changes to Illinois Discovery Rules

From Illinois Lawyer Now: "Supreme Court rules committee to hold public hearing on civil discovery proposals"--

The Rules Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court will hear comments at a public hearing on Wednesday, July 28 on three proposals dealing with discovery issues in civil cases.

The hearing is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m., 160N. LaSalle Street, Room C-500 in Chicago.

The first proposal would allow the use, in very limited circumstances, of a party's discovery deposition at trial. The second would allow a lawyer to take a deposition by electronic means (e.g., phone, video) without a court order or consent of the opposing party. The third would allow lawyers to issue subpoenas in civil actions.

There is further information about the proposals and public hearing at the Supreme Court's website.

Reader Input: Send Your Suggestions

As always, readers are welcome to email me with suggestions for topics to cover at The Trial Practice Tips Weblog.

Something new that I should cover? Deposition tips? Trial pointers?

Email me at eschaeffer -at- riverbendlaw.com

Advice for New Lawyers

At Dorf on Law, Ori J. Herstein has written a useful and entertaining post titled "Advice to the New Junior Associate in Big Law." It's full of good practical advice, like this bit of wisdom on the role of partners--

Partners like to feel that they and their work are of grave importance. Let them. In many ways associates function as a mirror for generating a flattering reflection, a sounding board for ideas and venting, and a sponge to absorb frustrations. It’s just how it is.

There's much more in the full post.

Detecting Liars: A New Method?

From Wired Science: "Lie-Detection Brain Scan Could Be Used in Court for First Time"--

A Brooklyn attorney hopes to break new ground this week when he offers a brain scan as evidence that a key witness in a civil trial is telling the truth, Wired.com has learned.

If the fMRI scan is admitted, it would be a legal first in the United States and could have major consequences for the future of neuroscience in court.

It seems unlikely such a scan would be admissible. There are still plenty of low-tech methods of exposing liars, however--see this article at Psychology Today: "Top 10 Secrets of Effective Liars."

Related posts:

1. "Deposition Tip: Help with Sniffing Out the Liars"

2. "Tip for Spotting Liars: Ask for the Story in Reverse"