7 Things You Never Want to Say in Court

by Ken Lopez
Lawyers say a lot of things in court – but here’s a list of seven things that, for various reasons, you never want to hear yourself saying in court.

Number 1: “Your Honor, could I please have a moment to sort out this technical issue.” The middle of trial is not the place to fix your technical glitches – yet one hears lawyers utter this sentence all the time. With few exceptions, technical problems are almost entirely preventable. And in any case, you always have a backup plan, right? Take a look at these related articles for more background on this:

Number 2: “My client.” I believe the phrase “my client” should be banished from the lexicon of all litigators….

Read more here:

http://www.a2lc.com/blog/bid/68380/7-things-you-never-want-to-say-in-court?source=Blog_Email_%5B7%20Things%20You%20Never%20W%5D

Best Resource for Trial Presentation

by: Ted Brooks

The “W” words should come into play here: What, Why, Who, When, and Where? Are you an attorney in search of a proven and reputable vendor to assist with an upcoming matter, or a paralegal looking for some insight on the right projector and best trial presentation software available? Maybe you’re just interested in exploring the general landscape – gathering info on what’s going on and who is involved. With a setup like that, it may seem like there is no single right answer. The good news is that I believe there is an excellent answer, and that resource may be found by joining over 4000 others on the Trial Technology group on LinkedIn.

The group is made up of a wide range of legal professionals from law firms,

Read more here:

http://trial-technology.blogspot.com/2013/11/best-resource-for-trial-presentation.html

Avoid Market Research Mistakes in Your Mock Trial

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm:

In a recent piece in Forbes online, Roger Dooley tells his own story of a spectacular market research failure. His company was involved in metal sales and competed in a market with an overall price similarity. Thinking that their product had some quality advantages over the competition, the company wanted to charge a higher price. The market research they did showed that price came in dead last as a concern, with likely customers focused on quality, delivery speed, and customer service instead.

Roger Dooley’s audience for this piece is market researchers, but the critique and the caution applies just as well to those who conduct litigation focus group and mock trial projects. There are definite similarities between the legal pretrial research and the market research fields, since we often use the same recruiters, the same facilities, and have similar goals in testing the public’s reaction to new information.

Read more here:

http://www.persuasivelitigator.com/2013/10/avoid-market-research-mistakes-in-your-mock-trial.html

How to Help Jurors Understand Spatial Relationships

 By Dave Nugent

Good visual presentations enhance juror attention, cognition and retention in the courtroom. By providing comparisons and reference points familiar to the juror, demonstratives can help communicate difficult concepts and data. Understanding of spatial information (e.g., positions, sizes and movement) particularly benefits from graphical representation.

In today’s blog post, we’ll explore a diagram from NASA’s Apollo 11 Lunar Landing program and then discuss takeaway lessons for litigators planning trial graphics.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” said Neil Armstrong as he became the first human to walk on the earth’s moon.

Read more here:

http://cogentlegal.com/blog/2013/11/understand-spatial-relationships/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CogentLegalBlog+%28Cogent+Legal+Blog%29

Projection Questions: LCD or DLP Projectors? Plus, Do Lumens Matter?

by: Michael Skrzypek

Q: Should I use a LCD or a DLP projector?

A: The short answer is, “it’s complicated, but go with an LCD projector.”

The less-short (but still-short) answer is: LCD projectors generally display graphics better than DLP projectors. By “better,” we mean they project colors that more closely match how they look on your computer screen. If you use a DLP projector, your graphics will probably not look like they do on your computer screen. For instance, a common problem with DLP projectors is that many of them display yellow as green, and since yellow is commonly used as a highlight color on exhibits and graphics that will be shown to your audience, a DLP projector won’t give you the clarity you need in front of the jury.

Q: Do lumens really matter when I choose a projector?

Read more here:

http://www.thetrialwarroomhandbook.com/?p=849

An Infographic Lesson for Litigators

By Michael Kelleher

We recommend to our readers a recent New Yorker article by Gareth Cook entitled Why Abraham Lincoln Loved Infographics. Cook’s New Yorker article discusses Lincoln’s “slave map” as an early example of an infographic.

Infographics—such as maps and charts that visualize data—are a powerful communication tool for litigators. As Cook explains, infographics take “information that is not easy for us to absorb … and put it into a form … that the brain can interpret with speed.”

Litigators can and should use infographics as a way to show patterns and suggest conclusions that would be hard to glean from presenting pages of numbers from spreadsheets. For example, by showing patterns of data, an infographic can lead an audience to a conclusion….

Read more here:

http://cogentlegal.com/blog/2013/10/infographics-lessons-civil-war/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CogentLegalBlog+%28Cogent+Legal+Blog%29

Simplify and Emphasize in Litigation Graphics

By Michael Kelleher

In oral argument, a litigator has very limited time—she needs to hit the high points and move on. She must communicate enough information to convince the judge or jury of her argument, yet must avoid getting mired in details that will only confuse.

Good litigation graphics can counter this time crunch by allowing an attorney to communicate clearly and quickly. The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” reflects the truth that our brains quickly process and understand images.

To support an argument, graphics should be tightly tied to the key points of the advocate’s message.

Read more here:

http://cogentlegal.com/blog/2013/10/simplify-emphasize-in-litigation-graphics/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CogentLegalBlog+%28Cogent+Legal+Blog%29

Analogy, Illustration, Animation and Simplicity: A Lesson for Trial Graphics

October 10, 2013 By Michael Kelleher

Great graphics make difficult concepts understandable, and such graphics are what we aspire to each day at Cogent Legal. Today’s blog entry will dissect a graphic from the New York Times and think about what makes it work.

The October 8, 2013, edition of the New York Times included a great graphic in its report on the award of the Nobel Prize in physics for the prediction of the Higgs Boson. The interactive graphic entitled “What is the Higgs?” tackles the difficult task of explaining a particle so fundamental that it has been called the “God Particle.”

The Higgs graphic exemplifies four tools for litigators: analogy, illustration, animation and simplicity. Below, I’ll discuss each of these tools briefly and conclude with some litigation examples.

Read more here:

http://cogentlegal.com/blog/2013/10/analogy_illustration_-animation_simplicity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CogentLegalBlog+%28Cogent+Legal+Blog%29

Being Persuasive with the Jury

Judge Barbara Lynn gives you some tips about things that you might try not to do when you’re trying to be persuasive to a jury. For instance, pay attention to the quality of your exhibits, stay away from legalese and jargon and communicate effectively with the entire jury. Enjoy these tips and more.

By: Hon. Barbara M. G. Lynn, U.S. District Judge

Know the Difference Between Debate and Trial Advocacy

By Dr. Ken Broda-Bahm:

There is a tendency, particularly within law, to equate argumentation and persuasion: How do you persuade? By offering arguments, of course. But that isn’t all of it, or even necessarily the half of it. You win the argument when your point cannot be refuted, but you persuade only when your target is convinced. Over the years, most formats of academic debate have clearly chosen argument over persuasion. No self-respecting debate judge would admit that they are siding with the winner because they more fully understand and accept that side’s advocacy. Instead they will say, often in excruciating detail…

Read more here:

http://www.persuasivelitigator.com/2013/10/know-the-difference-between-debate-and-trial-advocacy.html