| What
can a mock trial tell you?
Anne W. Reed
Even the best mock trial won’t predict the outcome of
your case or tell you exactly which jurors to pick. But a good
one can help you evaluate your evidence, learn how jurors think,
and supercharge your preparation. You’ll also gain sharp
new insights into your case. To get the most from a mock trial,
you’ll need to do more listening than talking.
Shield your client from defense
attacks
Cindy L. Nations
Attacking the plaintiff—especially on questions of motivation
or character—is one of the oldest defense tricks in the
book, but you can minimize the damage if you prepare for it.
Make sure your client knows what is coming, unearth potential
skeletons, and bone up on objections and rules of evidence.
Direct examination of lay witnesses
Charles G. Monnett III and Randall J. Phillips
Lay witnesses can provide some of your most valuable testimony.
They appear unbiased and know your client better than a credentialed
expert. So don’t relegate them to the sidelines during
trial; make them key characters in your client’s story.
Sifting the issues with stipulations
Elliott Wilcox
The saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff”
applies to a trial, too. Save your skill and energy for the
most important parts of your case by using stipulations to streamline
your trial, make your witnesses and the judge happy, and stay
focused on the most compelling and persuasive parts of your
case.
When the balance shifted
Some trials run along a smooth trajectory. In others, there’s
a turning point—a single moment when all your preparation,
experience, and intuition come through to turn things your client’s
way. Four lawyers talk about that point at trial: when they
saw the shift coming, how they used it, and what it meant for
their clients and for justice.
Proving the invisible
Douglas K. Sheff
Traumatic brain injury is so difficult to see that even doctors
can miss it. How do you convince a jury that this serious but
hidden injury has occurred? You’ll need well-established
medical tests and the help of experts in neurology and neuropsychology.
|
Perils and possibilities of
online social networks
Karen Barth Menzies
Online social networks like MySpace and Facebook are the new
village square, where visitors chat with total strangers about
events in their lives. You can use them to unearth a lot of
valuable “private” information—but be careful,
because so can the defense.
|
News & Trends
Rising tide of citizen action suits takes
on water polluters
Researchers reveal Merck's ghostwritten
Vioxx studies
Class certified in case alleging railroad
pressed victims to settle
New law will protect employees and insureds
from genetic bias
Drugs hurt more than 1 in 10 hospitalized
children, study finds
Roommate-matching Web site discriminates,
Ninth Circuit rules
Court orders medical examiner to strike
Taser from autopsy reports
Private lawyers can help California governments
in lead paint case, court says
Departments
President’s page
Stealth tort "reform" unveiled
Supreme Court review
A severe setback to voting rights
Hearsay
Justice in motion
Lawmakers propose bill to subject foreign
manufacturers to U.S. justice
Media coverage, Hill hearing put spotlight
on preemption
Georgia judge strikes down med-mal damages
cap
Section newsletters spread practice-area
news
Packets clarify complexities of pharmaceutical
products litigation
Damages program expands to three-day college
Past presidents share ideas for AAJ's
future
Books
The Next Justice: Repairing the
Supreme Court Appointments Process by Christopher L.
Eisgruber
See You in Court: How the Right
Made America a Lawsuit Nation by Thomas Geoghegan
Experts & Professional Services
Classifieds
Lawyer Networking
Products & Services
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