By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Most of the civil cases we work on are big cases. It’s not a lone lawyer with a briefcase, it is a team: several senior attorneys, associates, paralegals, and in-house counsel. That’s the team that needs to work together through the long haul of the lead-up to trial, and that’s the […]
Know the Five Qualities of a Great Trial Team Read More »
by Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Having assisted on a large number of jury selections, I know there are a few attorneys who will say, “Give me the dumb ones — I’ll tell them what to think.” But by and large, the attorneys have what I call an “intelligence bias.” That is, they think that their side of
Consider What Drives Resistance to Your Message Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Jurors and judges sit in court and evaluate credibility. They continuously assess who is telling the truth and who isn’t. But what is the bias in those determinations? Lie detection itself is a notoriously uncertain ability, with confidence often high, but with actual ability tending to hover more around the
Expect Bias Statements to be Unreliable and Often Overcorrected Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine this: Your success as an attorney or a witness requires a painstaking dig into the fine points of securities trading. Or offshore corporation taxation rules. Or design criteria for inventory-tracking software. Or the minutia of a construction timeline. Or a patent claim for an electronic switch. Or…you get the
Compensate for Dry Style or Dry Material: Seven Ways Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: “Careful what you email” has become a pretty important consideration in Washington lately, and not just for the politicians. This past week, Marc Kasowitz, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney found himself in the spotlight over an email exchange with a critic. On the evening of July 13th, Mr. Kasowitz seems
Treat Your Social Profile Like Your Public Profile Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Once, as I sat in a courtroom getting prepared to assist in picking a jury, the lawyer I was working with leaned over to say, “Make sure you have some reasons for strikes written down that we would be able to show the court.” My reaction? “Of course. All of my reasons
Be Prepared to Explain Your Strikes Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine that you’re housebreaking a puppy. After the inevitable ‘accident,’ and in order to enforce the rules of the house, you address her using your best lowered and ominous voice: “Daisy, what do you do?” Without having any idea what you’re actually saying, the pup reacts to your tone, and
Drop Pitch for Greater Power Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When we think of the most exciting moments in Hollywood’s version of a trial, direct examination isn’t among them. The act of putting on your own witness in order to establish the elements of your case has none of the drama we associate with a courtroom battle. Instead of offering
Be the Director of Your Witness’s Direct Examination Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It seems like the simplest piece of witness advice imaginable: Answer the question. But, at least judging by the number of times a witness doesn’t quite answer the question, it is a little more complicated than that. For a variety of reasons, many witnesses end up dodging the question. That can be
Don’t Dodge the Question Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: It has been one of the most enduring myths of voir dire and jury service generally: the idea that biases are personally known, readily admitted, and fully controllable. In order to prevent a biased juror from serving, let’s just ask them in voir dire if they’re biased, and then rely
Instruct Jurors on Unconscious Bias Read More »