By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – We all remember “show and tell,” and at least back then we understood intuitively that if we tried to just tell, without showing, we couldn’t expect much attention from the class. The same applies in litigation, and in a way you might not expect. This post is the first in a five-part series, reporting […]
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Casey Anthony was sentenced today to four years for lying to authorities with credit for the substantial time she has already served. Instead of facing life, or possibly death, for the murder of her daughter Caylee, she will be free as of next Sunday (July 17th), though it is hard to use the word
Take a Lesson from the Casey Anthony Verdict: It Is the Story, and Not Just the Evidence Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Lucy, for the umpteenth time, holds the football and invites Charlie Brown to kick it with the promise that this time, she won’t pull the ball at the last moment and send him flying. His response: “I don’t mind your dishonesty, half as much as I mind your opinion
Avoid Condescension and Other Sins of Legal Argument: Know Your ‘Second Persona’ Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – The popular image of legal argument is most often a polished and professional presentation, made from a podium in front of a jury or judge. To those of us court watchers who read transcripts, it is clear that the biggest roll-up-your-sleeves-and-argue moments are often at sidebar – those conferences conducted with counsel
Remember, it’s a Sidebar, Not a Bar Fight: Reason With, Not At, Your Adversary and Judge Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – “The men totally dominated the discussion the last time,” said JoAnn Chiakulas, the hold-out juror in Rod Blagojevich’s first corruption trial, “and a lot of the women were not treated very nicely.” The former governor’s newer jury consisted of eleven women and one man you might expect a change in that department. But this second jury deliberated
That’s Right, The Women Are Smarter: Pay Attention to Your Jury’s Social Intelligence Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – When the Casey Anthony jury moves to the deliberation phase in the near future, it is possible to imagine one of two scenarios for how those deliberations discussions will start: Scenario One: Okay, who here feels that she is guilty? Let’s just go around the table… Scenario Two: Okay, let’s start
Determine Whether Your Jurors Are Driven by Process or by Verdict Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – We all remember Aesop’s fable of the happy-go-lucky grasshopper who played away the summer while the ants worked industriously. When winter came, and the hungry grasshopper ended up at the ant’s door, the moral of the story became clear: entitlement, the feeling that the world owes you a living,
Spot the Jurors Who Feel Entitled to Award Higher Damages Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Attorneys, consultants, and experts know testimony needs to be delivered with more than just clarity and authority. It needs confidence. Jurors and judges alike are more comfortable with an expert’s testimony when it is delivered with self-assurance and conveyed with certainty. But according to research sponsored by The American
Experts: Don’t Cross The Line Between Confidence and Arrogance Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Last month, Uniloc USA lost a multiyear battle against Microsoft to preserve a $388 million jury award against the software giant, and will now be retrying the patent infringement case on damages alone. One thing Uniloc has in its corner for retrial is a compelling invention story: a plucky Australian inventor working since the early
Tell Your Patent Invention Story In a Way That is Worth Copyrighting Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – So, let’s say you are BP, and after the Deepwater Horizon spill you are facing several thousand claims in the courtroom. You are potentially more worried by one big claim in the court of public opinion: you’re seen as a bad actor. That perception certainly has less to do with any causal analysis of the failure of