Use “Less is More” to Win in Court
A Winning Tip
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3w ago
  Some courts are lenient with the amount of time allotted for a trial, some are not. It certainly can seem impossible, sometimes, to jam the amount of evidence and testimony you have in the number of hours permitted. And yet, as is so often true of many things in life “Less is more.” On being debriefed, some jurors stated that the matter at hand was treated with less than full consideration as the trial stretched on and on. Jurors began discussing plans for the various events in their lives, sharing thoughts about how to deal with children, difficult bosses, and so on, clearly impatien ..read more
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What the Trix Cereal Rabbit Can Teach Litigators
A Winning Tip
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1M ago
  So you thought cutesy cereal boxes were designed just to capture your innocent toddler’s rapt attention? Nope. In a Cornell University study, researchers manipulated the gaze of the cartoon rabbit on Trix cereal boxes and found that adult subjects were more likely to choose Trix over competing brands if the rabbit was looking at them rather than away: “Making eye contact even with a character on a cereal box inspires powerful feelings of connection.” But there’s more: according to research conducted at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, when doctors make more eye c ..read more
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Address Your Jurors’ Overriding Concerns: Safety & Trust
A Winning Tip
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5M ago
  Did you know that the United States is near the top of all countries in terms of anxiety? The U.S. comes in a close second behind Greece in adult stress levels—55 percent according to the Gallup World Emotions Report. This number is 20 percent higher than the global average. We live in one of the most affluent societies in the world, and yet the majority of our population does not feel safe. Safety is, put bluntly, Americans’ overriding concern. How does this matter to you? Whether you are plaintiff or defense, you must take into account how your jurors will perceive the safety factors ..read more
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Who Has The Longer Attention Span? Your Juror or A Goldfish?
A Winning Tip
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6M ago
  --The average attention span of a human being in 2000: 12 seconds --The average attention span of a human being in 2023: 8.25 seconds --The average attention span of a goldfish: 9 seconds Do I have your attention now?! This is the unfortunate reality you are up against in the courtroom. A goldfish has a longer attention span than today’s average juror . . . Our attention span has shortened as our world has become more complex, faster, more demanding, and more bite-sized. This is not a put-down of jurors or anyone else. It is simply a reality that is best dealt with, not avoided. Short ..read more
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A Dynamite Persuasion Technique: “But You Are Free”
A Winning Tip
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7M ago
  We live in the “land of the free, home of the brave.” As a people, we cherish freedom, but it’s something lawyers do not always factor into voir dire and closing arguments. And yet, 42 psychological studies on 22,000 people has shown that the single most powerful persuasion technique is to give people the freedom to choose. In other words, when you ask someone to do something, make sure to add to your request, “but you are free” to do otherwise. The exact words don’t matter, for example, the phrase “But obviously do not feel obliged” worked as well as “but you are free.” What’s importa ..read more
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Use Repetition to Drive Juror Acceptance of Your Case
A Winning Tip
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8M ago
When the jurors troop into the jury room for deliberations, every litigator’s dream is that each of them would, individually, spout your case theme/key points so that group consensus in your favor is inevitable. But how do you get them to do that? By presenting a targeted, credible and compelling case. That’s a given. In addition, put the power of repetition to work for you. Research by K. Weaver and colleagues shows that repetition, even by the same person or organization, is highly impactful: “…when an opinion is repeatedly broadcast at us by the same organization--think of a particular m ..read more
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Pressuring Potential Jurors in Voir Dire Can Backfire at Trial
A Winning Tip
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9M ago
  Time after time, what I discover in jury debriefings is that jurors don’t like being “interrogated” during voir dire. They don’t mind being questioned, but they heartily dislike attorney attempts to force answers out of them and especially resent being pressured into a “yes” or “no” response. Now this wouldn’t be so critical if it weren’t for the fact that people who feel pressured into a position, retaliate by disliking the person who pressured them. Cornered animals bite. So do jurors. As tempting as it is to finally get that unqualified “yes” or “no” from a juror, be aware of the c ..read more
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Want to Win? Start Off On The Right Foot With Prospective Jurors
A Winning Tip
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11M ago
  When prospective jurors walk into the courtroom, they only know one thing for sure: the courtroom is His/Her Honor’s private reserve, and the Judge’s word is law. Everything about the physical layout of the courtroom says “In this room, the Judge is Top Dog, and whatever they say is set in stone.” The Judge sits higher than everyone else. All must rise upon the Judge’s entrance, and may only be seated when told to do so. And whatever the Judge says, however erudite or nonsensical it may seem, becomes “what is” in that Courtroom. So, imagine my surprise when I observe lawyers go direct ..read more
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How Your Emotions Can Help You Win Your Case
A Winning Tip
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1y ago
  The question of whether to trust our logic or trust our emotions is rarely brought up in the context of legal matters, at least not from the lawyer’s point of view. Certainly, we discuss endlessly how this or that prospective juror’s mindset (highly emotional versus highly rational) might impact our case, but not usually how the lawyer’s emotion would. However, research by M. Pham, L. Lee and A. Stephen provides interesting insights into the positive impact lawyer emotions might have in winning cases. Their study showed that people who were more likely to trust their feelings were als ..read more
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Get Those Undecideds On Your Side: With Jury Instructions
A Winning Tip
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1y ago
Despite the best efforts of all involved, jury instructions remain obscure and confusing to all but the most legalese-savvy jurors. Cases should be won or lost on their merits, but too often, cases are lost (or unsatisfactory verdicts obtained) because the jurors either did not understand the jury instructions, or how those jury instructions should be specifically applied to the verdict form. Clarifying jury instructions so jurors can make their way through the verdict form fully understanding what their vote means, is important. That’s step one. But then it’s critical to move on to step two ..read more
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