Miles B. Cooper

The lawyer answered the phone. “A friend of yours? Involved in a rear-ender? Well, sure, that’s a clear liability personal injury case. I don’t usually handle them, but it sounds easy. Order some medical records, make a few phone calls, send out a demand package, negotiate, and settle the case. What could possibly go wrong?” What is a MIST case?...

The defense lawyer, cross-examining the plaintiff, began the wind up. “So, if I understand you correctly, your back injury prevents you from doing the things you used to enjoy.” “Correct.” “Before the accident, you used to enjoy hiking. But last July, you went to a trailhead, made it a half mile up the trail, and were unable to go the...

The lawyer was cross-examining the defendant. “Just before your car struck my client, you were traveling 35 miles per hour.” “No. I had slowed to 10 miles per hour." “Playing video from the defendant’s deposition, page 32, lines 5-14.” The lawyer waited for the defense counsel to confirm there was no objection. The lawyer then played the video. The same...

The lawyer began his adverse witness cross-exam. The lawyer handed the witness a document. “Mr. Witness, I’m handing you what has been marked as Exhibit 32, a contract between you and XYZ Corp.” He got the exhibit admitted quickly. But two hours later, the lawyer was still asking questions about the contract without the jury having seen it. The jury...

“Why is that man sleeping there?” We were hosting my four-year-old niece. She had been wanting a sleepover at her aunt and uncle’s house in the big city for some time. We had her over during Christmas. She lives in the suburbs. Nice place, the suburbs, but the suburbs don’t have the City’s bustle. Nor do they have the same...

I sat in the gallery next to a law clerk, watching another lawyer’s opening. “There was supposed to be a PowerPoint slide showing vertebrae and disk material but apparently it is not working. So I’m going to draw something…” The lawyer turned to some butcher paper. He bumbled around for 15 minutes, drawing and talking. The clerk leaned over and...

I unlocked the front door. Laying in the mail pile on the floor – an official envelope. A real one, not one of the fake “official business” envelopes. A jury summons. Most people grumble when they receive a summons – trial lawyers included. I’m no different. Taking time from work – significant time – can cause consternation. How long will...

The lawyer read in disbelief. The memo, on defendant’s letterhead, crucified the defense. It was part of defendant’s production responses (and for reasons that will be talked about later, the fact that it was not electronically stored information is significant). The document had also been floating around for years. The defendant gave it to the police during the initial investigation....

The stars aligned. Back to back to back trials for the plaintiff’s lawyer. A good thing. Trial dates resolve cases. The pressure of a courtroom helps. “It changes everything. Pressure. Some people, you squeeze them, they focus. Others fold,” said Al Pacino’s John Milton in The Devil’s Advocate. Devil or not, an apt observation. (If I’m spoiling the movie, too...

The lawyer finished rebuttal and sat down. He looked at his watch. Two hours and fifty-four minutes – for his opening, witnesses, and closing. Only six minutes shy of his three-hour time limit. He knew the expedited jury trial timing would be tight, but wow – that was tight. His estimates paid off. The only thing remaining – the jury’s...