"[E]excessive strategizing about trial advocacy is counterproductive," writes Max Kennerly of the Litigation & Trial blog in this paragraph--
All of which leads me to believe that excessive strategizing about trial advocacy is counterproductive, a product of our intuition leading us astray with psychological illusions like confirmation bias. Facts win cases. The minimum performance required for a trial lawyer to be considered competent is quite high (and there are many incompetent trial lawyers), and there are differences in style and performance that separate the great trial lawyers from the competent ones, but no one reasonable decision at trial ever sways the case one way or another.
The quote is pulled from the end of a long post about trial styles and story-telling: "Trial Lawyers As Storytellers, The Narratives Versus The Numbers." It's a useful read if you've been thinking about how to organize trial facts into a compelling narrative, and how much this matters to the outcome of your case.
Long before I had a blog, I regularly read your blog. It's an honor to get a link from you.
Posted by: Max Kennerly | December 07, 2011 at 02:28 PM