Miles B. Cooper

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...

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...

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....

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...

Finding mentorship and the rewards that come through good mentoring The lawyer sat watching the law school graduation. The audience seemed particularly jubilant. The school, which for over a century has provided law degrees for working people, attracted an amazingly diverse student body. Not just the first in the family to become a lawyer but for many the first to...

Building teams with the right people in the right seats The lawyer sat contemplating the right people, right seats concept. This was articulated by Jim Collins in Good to Great. Collins defines right people as folks who share a company’s core values and expand the company’s values-based culture. He defines right seat as a situation where a person’s role matches...

Making case closing an essential part of office hygiene The lawyer, reviewing some pre-trial documents, surveyed the living room. A rainy Sunday led to numerous children’s games, books, and toys laying about. One of the two children tromped down the stairs, into the living room. “Can we make popcorn and watch a movie?” The lawyer’s eyes widened, scanning the mess...

Management for those of us who never knew we’d need to do it The lawyer thought back to law school. Socratic method. Rule against perpetuities. Outlines. Interesting stuff. Nothing, however, about managing people. Interesting, the lawyer pondered, because whether one works with a single assistant, runs a trial team, or oversees multitudes as managing partner, management becomes a core lawyering...

Successful time-limited pre-filing demands after C.C.P. § 999’s arrival The lawyer listened to the presenter. “For those of you wanting a solid bad faith case after an insurance company wrongfully fails to accept a pre-filing demand, there’s a new statute, and it’s a big deal.” The lawyer, who liked bad faith pivots as much as the next person, perked up...

An “on-shoulders-of-giants” primer on successful jury selection cause challenges Every fiber of the lawyer’s being crackled. Jury selection did that – spotlight attention on one prospective juror, peripheral awareness of all. They were discussing gay marriage, as the lawyer’s clients were gay and married. The prospective juror, a pastor, acknowledged, “Those people may have a legal right to be married,...