Trial by Jury During and After Coronavirus: How Courts & Trial Lawyers Adjusted, Improvised, and Learned

The menacing virus that reared its ugly little head during the Spring of 2020 made its way into every aspect of our lives and our society. From sanitation workers to grocery clerks to lawmakers, restaurant owners, and defense attorneys, the pandemic’s ripple effects have been felt across the board. And while coronavirus is far from […]

How Focus Groups Help Trial Lawyers Construct Effective Trial Themes and Narratives

Trial lawyers implement a variety of tools to help them construct an effective trial. And while the trial depends on evidence, witness testimony, and other hard facts, the narrative shaping of a trial is a major component of appealing to juries. Trial lawyers prepare for juries in several ways. One effective way to deep dive […]

The Trial Lawyer as a Storyteller & The Role of Effective Trial Preparation

Being a trial lawyer and telling stories are inextricably linked. As a trial lawyer, you stand in front of a courtroom and tell a story— the client’s story. That story will be the guiding narrative the jury holds onto as they experience the trial and listen to the lineup of evidence. Stories are powerful, but […]

How Post-Verdict Research Reveals Critical Insights for Future Jury Preparation

Trials are complicated. As all trial attorneys know, they involve many overlapping factors and variables, and as adrenaline and emotions are high, it makes it difficult to look at the big picture of what happened immediately after the verdict. As the dust settles on a trial, attorneys begin to wonder how they could have approached […]

Trial Preparation Tips: Technology, Strategy, and Good Communication

The trial is at the center of our great justice system. In a society where due process is a staple of our criminal justice, the trial—in many cases—is the battlefield where attorneys use evidence, witness testimony, timelines, expert testimony, and other tactics to defend their clients and present their case to the jury. A lot […]

The Art of Witness Preparation: A Vital Aspect of Getting Ready for Trial

Like everything else courtroom-movie-related, famous testimony scenes are a big part of our collective imagination thanks to popular culture, films, and television shows. Whether it is eloquent attorneys making their opening or closing statements to a wide-eyed jury, or a witness bursts out with ‘You can’t handle the truth,’ or a hushed courtroom awaiting as […]

Mastering Jury Trial Preparation: Opening and Closing Statements

The American Bar Association deems a trial lawyer’s opening and closing statements as the bookends of your trial. Yes, they frame the opening and closing of your trial, but they also provide an opportunity for you to tell your client’s story and frame it in a particular way so that the jury might appreciate it […]

What We’ve Learned About Juries and Why the Sixth Amendment is Key

Most people know that the sixth amendment is there to offer a key group of rights designed to make criminal persecutions fair, accurate, and legitimate. The sixth amendment guarantees a couple of things and perhaps the most commonly known is that of a jury and a speedy trial. The amendment, however, goes beyond that and […]

A Look at the Fifth Amendment and Why It is Key to Our Justice System

Likely you have heard it in a film or one of your friends has jokingly said, “I plea the 5th,” when not wanting to answer for something they’ve done. It’s become part of the common vernacular and one of those things we all say jokingly or not, when we feel we don’t want to incriminate […]

Trial Themes: How Using an Effective Narrative Can Save Your Case

If you’ve ever seen a movie that involves a trial scene, you’ll likely remember the impactful nature of the opening and closing statements. Equally as impactful are the questions that the lawyer asks the witnesses, always getting dramatic responses and raising eyebrows from the jury. The reason that courtroom scenes are so powerful in […]

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