Two things to do in every deposition Introducing Exhibits at Depositions; Asking for Specifics of Objections At depositions, of your witness or theirs, there are two actions you almost always should take (whether you represent the deponent or are adverse to the deponent). If a physical or electronic item produced at the deposition is important to your side of the case, say: […] Read more »
Three items to form a base for better negotiation Three items that can form a basis for settling your lawsuits – better and faster. Effective negotiation and mediation call for advocacy skills and advocacy – style presentations. Losing lawyers don’t do a really persuasive presentation before reaching the settlement table. Wining attorneys do the softening up of the other side that is needed before […] Read more »
Three commandments for your oral motion argument Oral arguments to the motions judge: Your three commandments Commandment # 1. In the first three or four sentences of your oral argument you will state the factual or procedural situation. You may be working with a complicated situation. But 85% of the time you will be facing a judge who wants to listen to […] Read more »
There’s hard drive storage in most copiers and printers This following complimentary form or article is a result of our mission statement: “Making Good Lawyers Better.” Thank you for being a lawyer! TIP4550 Be Aware of the Evidence that may be in MFP’s Our message involves mostly a security problem, but there is a court ESI evidence possibility that litigation attorneys should understand. You […] Read more »
There’s a Black Box in your client’s car This is a PowerLitigation™ article of Leonard Bucklin. This article was adapted for LawyerTrialForms™ from his multi- volume text of discovery, litigation, and trial advice and tactics, titled Building Trial Notebooks. Bucklin is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, limited to 500 top trial lawyers in the U.S, a member of the […] Read more »
The first ESI mistake to avoid The first ESI mistake to avoid — and a list of “to do’s” to avoid it Chronologically, the first ESI mistake to avoid is failing to tell the client, (A) early and (B) clearly, that the client must preserve existing ESI. This mistake is a novice lawyer mistake, but an all too common mistake made […] Read more »
The Ethics of Witness Preparation Power Litigation™ – Preparing the Witness to Testify: the legal ethics, and how to do it ethically. As part of our free publications of useful litigation materials for lawyers and legal assistants, we offer the following summary of the legal ethics involved in an attorney’s preparation of a witness to testify in a deposition (or […] Read more »
The “Always Ask” block of eight deposition questions The following is a block of eight questions you should always ask at a deposition of an adverse or independent witness. The witness’s answers may be startling to you and damaging to your opponent. We call this the “Always Ask” block, and suggest you keep a copy in the notebook that you take to the […] Read more »
Terminating representation of client checklist In the best of litigation practices, there comes a time when you realize that a client is not responding to your requests, is hiding evidence, is not paying your bills, or is simply a lying, rude, nasty person that you cannot tolerate. You might call that client an SOB, but let’s use the term you […] Read more »