By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – You may not have heard the phrase “filter bubble,” but it refers to an internet phenomena, as well as to some basic psychology on how we receive and process information. More fully explained in the video clip below, Eli Pariser coined the phrase to refer to the individual separation (that is the ‘bubble’
Beware of the Jury’s “Filter Bubble” Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – It is now a truism that effective opening statements tell a story. Now that it is, once again, Blagojevic trial season in Chicago, prosecutors are telling a story of a desperate politician’s attempt to wring personal fortune out of political opportunity, as the defense waits to tell a competing story of an overzealous
Your Opening: Tell It Like a Story, but Tailor It Like a Strategy Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – We are often asked, “What kind of jurors do we want for our case?” and sometimes that question can veer toward demographics: “Do we want women or men?” In personal injury litigation, for example, the lawyers trying the case might suspect that women will show more compassion and sympathy toward an injured party,
Don’t Count on Gender Differences When it Comes to Compassion Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Exactly what do people celebrate when they see a fitting result? Sometimes it is justice, and sometimes it includes a measure of payback or revenge as well. Just over a week ago, news from the Oval Office ignited jubilant celebrations in Times Square and many other parts of the country. Scenes
A Mixture of Justice and Revenge: Target Juror Psychology in Awarding Damages Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – There is a pattern in medical malpractice litigation: people want to trust their doctors. This pattern is something observed in our own experience, in human psychology, and in attitudes toward malpractice trials. Plaintiffs only win when jurors are able to overcome that trust. The best thing that doctor-defendants have
In Malpractice Litigation, Account for Jurors’ Motive to Trust the Doctor Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Those who count on the human ability to prioritize reason and evidence over unshakable conviction — and all participants in the litigation process ought to count themselves in that group — should take note of the persistence of questions over the President’s place of birth, and the sad take-away
Convert Your Conspiracy Theorists: Research Shows it Can Be Done Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – When the public answers current polling on the health insurance reform law, only a minority of 46 percent will say that they support it. But when attention turns to the details of the plan, a majority supports the individual elements. Even opposition to the dreaded “individual mandate” falls to just 35
Don’t Defend A Strawman (And Don’t Attack One Either) Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Imagine this: you’re sued for making false claims about your product. What do you do? Issue a terse public statement and hunker down for discovery? Not Taco Bell. When an Alabama law firm filed a class action accusing the company of using meat filling with only 36% beef, the company responded
Know When to Take the Offensive in Defense of Your Product: Lessons from Taco Bell Read More »
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – Anyone who argues in front of judges knows that human factors can weigh as heavily as the law in determining your judge’s decisions. But it is still possible at times to be surprised at the degree of influence, as well as the banality of those human factors. Case in
By: Dr. Ken Broda Bahm – A warning that calls attention to a product’s potential danger is obviously an important part of a company’s litigation prevention and defense. But according to one recent statistic, a substantial portion of the public, and potential jury pool, may be a bit cynical on the question of whether warnings are designed to educate or
Aim Your Product Warnings at “FYI” and Not Just “CYA” Read More »