Articles

The pandemic and the jury trial: Are they contradictions in terms? The lawyer, on Zoom, listened to the judge at a status conference in an ongoing complex fire case. “Listen, I’m going to be direct. The criminal case backlog – and I’m talking no time waiver and murder cases – is overwhelming. When it comes to picking a jury, well,...

Nuts and bolts practice management during a pandemic The lawyer apologized to the others on the call about the background noise. One of the lawyer’s children had a question that JUST COULD NOT WAIT (despite being asked to leave the lawyer alone during the call). Because the child was six…and stuck at home…and these were interesting times. Fortunately, the lawyer...

Get out of your pajamas and seize the opportunities presented by the pandemic to move cases along The lawyer attempted to process the changes that had occurred over the last few days. The office had closed, and everyone now worked from home. The courts had closed, and who knew what the trial backlog would look like when they reopened. Depositions...

Online focus groups can highlight case strengths and weaknesses, and at less cost than traditional focus groups The lawyer watched the screen with interest and disgust. On the screen: eight people, each one videoconferencing in from their respective homes. They comprised an online focus group. As the moderator unveiled case details, two defense-oriented jurors dribbled out their poisonous thoughts. Hence...

Making good decisions when group dynamics are in play, as in the co-counsel world The lawyer braced against the 70-mile-an-hour winds ripping across the ridge line, snow pelting the fractional exposed skin between goggles and balaclava. A gust triggered a harmonic hum as it passed between the skis strapped to the lawyer’s pack. Below was the lawyer’s climbing partner. Above,...

Taking depositions of the “persons most knowledgeable” The lawyer pressed the witness, the entity’s driver-training person most knowledgeable. “You understand the company believes you know the most about how drivers get trained?” The witness agreed. The lawyer continued, “You understand your bus driver did not know the bus’s width? The bus’s length? The bus’s weight?” The witness conceded each point....

Law is a lifelong practice with distinct stages, each joyous for different reasons The aged lion of the bar sat next to the lawyer at the banquet table. Deep creases surrounded the piercing eyes. Lined with over eight decades, courtroom battles balanced against family and outdoor activities, the lion remained sharp. “Moving a little slower,” the lion chuckled, “but I...

Collecting damages when the defendant is underinsured The lawyer sat with the client. Almost every case is tragic. This one was doubly so. The client not only suffered serious injuries, he then found out the elderly defendant maintained very little insurance. Since the client did not own a car or maintain a non-owner operator auto policy, he did not have...

Cramming down the demons that drive us differs from confronting them There was a person who was married with two lovely children. The person was a successful professional, and a functional alcoholic. That worked, until it didn’t. The person’s spouse loved that alcoholic very much, and tried everything to help right the ship. But only the alcoholic had the power...

Preparing and using the special verdict form in trial “Judge, we need to meet again about the verdict form” said one of the lawyers. The special verdict was thirteen pages long and as user-friendly as an IRS form – and not the 1040-EZ. Unfortunately, it contained a directional error. A function of last-minute rulings on a case with multiple issues....