Preparing for and delivering motion practice oral argument The lawyer arrived early in the law and motion department. The tentative for defendant’s summary judgment motion? “Parties to appear.” Not a lot to go on. Stacked on the dais’s edge were actual books. Squinting, the lawyer made out numbers on the California Appellate Reports spines. One applied to the lawyer’s case,...
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The mediator, an older male retired judge, spoke directly to the lawyer, ignoring the lawyer’s boss. The mediator did this despite the fact lawyer’s boss was without question the power in the room. While a long time ago, it still should not have happened. It was so off base it took the lawyer some time to recognize the behavior for what it was. The mediator, ignoring the lawyer’s boss, talked past her because the mediator saw her as insignificant. She was a woman, after all.
The lawyer listened. The situation had gone off the wire. Not fatal. Also not good. How had it happened? Ultimately the lawyer owned it. And within leader ownership, it was important to determine what led to the issue. Process failure, delegation failure, communication failure? All of these? None? Time to dig in, grab those involved, and conduct an After-Action Review.
The lawyer looked at the butcher block, counting up the incidents the lawyer and the witness had discussed. “I’m sorry – that’s, let’s see – one, two, three, four, five collisions involving your truck driver in the 18 months before he runs over a pedestrian in a crosswalk?” The jury glowered at the witness. The butcher block exhibit was having its effect.
The lawyer reviewed the material from defendants in the federal action. Rule 26 mandatory disclosures were wonderful. They kicked the case off and made federal cases much easier on the discovery front. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if California state court had something similar?
The lawyer looked around the room. With the lawyer was the team – skilled counsel handling a multi-plaintiff case. The clients? Unique individuals, all. A business leader, a social media maven, a researcher, a transactional lawyer – seated around a large conference table at mediation. The clients’ only commonality? They were a few of the many cyclists injured over several days by a paving defect, created and left unresolved despite a multitude of calls following a trenching operation.
Get the right equipment to present successfully The lawyer sat in the courtroom gallery, straining to listen as a video deposition playback began. The audio, through laptop speakers, was turned up as high as it could go. The tinny sound could barely be heard. The judge, watching the jurors cupping hands to their ears, interrupted the proceeding. “The jury can’t...
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Talk to jurors post-verdict to learn, improve, and evaluate the verdict The lawyer sat waiting, the thud-thud-thud of adrenaline-addled blood pounding into the lawyer’s brain while the lawyer waited for the judge to review the verdict before handing it back to the clerk to be read. The clerk read it, one side uplifted and the other dejected. “Would either side...
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Creating and delivering compelling opening statements The lawyer started out, “There’s a basic rule…” The jurors followed the lawyer as the case’s narrative unfolded. The inner critic nattered in the lawyer’s head, “I hope I finish talking before they finish listening.” Open season Primacy study data demonstrates that most jurors decide a case during jury selection and early opening statement....
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Focus on the goal, not the obstacle, to achieve the desired outcome Long ago, the lawyer was out mountain biking with a skilled rider. The lawyer saw a rock ahead and, looking at it, thought, “I don’t want to hit that.” Like a moth to a flame, into the rock went the bike and lawyer. Low speed, low consequence. The...
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