By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When your jury returns a verdict, who is actually speaking? Literally, of course, it is the foreperson speaking for the six to twelve on that jury. But more broadly, it is also the six to twelve speaking for the community. In some form or another, those individuals are reflecting the […]
Hear the Community’s Voice in Your Jury’s Damages Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: What is a photocopying machine? The following video humorously exploring that question has been making the social media rounds inside and outside the litigation world. An acted out version of a real deposition transcript, this creation of L.A. writer/director Brett Weiner recently won an award for best short film at
Avoid Deposition Games (On All Sides) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: At the start of their game last Sunday, members of the L.A. Clippers ceremonially left their warmup jackets in a heap in center court, and warmed up with their shirts turned inside-out in order to conceal the name and logo of the team. This act came in response to recorded comments
Dissociate (to Separate Bad Image from Good Image in Litigation) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The jurors lean forward in their seats a bit as they have their first chance to hear about the case in opening statement. The attorney steps to the lectern, looks directly at the panel, pauses, raises his hand for emphasis and…reintroduces himself and everyone sitting at counsel table. “You’ve already
Right Out of the Blocks: Make the First Few Minutes Count Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Your face is probably blank as you read this. So just as an experiment, right now, smile. Now, even if your smile is forced, goofy, or pasted on, hold that smile for at least 20 seconds or so. If you’re like most, you should feel your mood lifting almost immediately.
Smile (For Credibility and Affect) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: On a recent trip returning to the U.S., I was eyed closely as I answered a series of apparently mundane questions from the uniformed American agent. Where was I born? Where do I live in the U.S.? How long had I been gone? What cities had I visited? And so
Treat Body Language as Unproven, Yet Trusted Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: The expert has prepared thoroughly for her testimony before the judge. She knows each opinion and every foundation. The outline that counsel developed is all but memorized. But then, as she is about an hour into describing the detailed methods and conclusions, the judge’s eyes are drifting down to the
Experts: Keep It Comparative Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: In an age when Americans spend a stunning 11 hours every day, on average, interacting with digital media, the idea that it is somehow enough in the courtroom for trial lawyers to simply use the power of words or a few static images is becoming increasingly dated. If you really want to
Animate: Give Your Jurors Three Dimensions, or More Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an Emancipation Proclamation of sorts for campaign money. No longer, based on the 5-4 decision in McCutcheon v. FEC, would individual donors be held to limits on their total donations in any given campaign season. That decision has unleashed another wave of public disgust
Account for Entitlement and Greed Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Imagine this future scenario. Those called for jury duty arrive at the courthouse. First comes security, with purses and wallets scanned on the belt while the citizens step through the metal detector. Then comes the “Neuro-Voir Dire” as candidate jurors step into a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) machine so