Taking judicial notice of a fact found on the Internet This following complimentary form or article is a result of our mission statement: “Making Good Lawyers Better.” Thank you for being a lawyer! #TIP5219 Judicial Notice and the Internet Have you thought about asking the judge to take judicial notice of a fact available on the Internet? Federal Rule of Evidence 201 allows a judge […] Read more »
Standard cross-exam questions “Every trial lawyer needs some stock cross examination questions to pull out of the bag. Try these.” “Here is a standard set of questions I’ve used in doing cross-examinations in trials and depositions. Study them, and be ready to use them when an adverse witness is in the witness chair. I put them in my […] Read more »
Spoliation Motion Two Cases to know for your ESI Spoliation Motion argument If you fail to issue a written litigation hold instruction to your client — is it negligence, negligence per se, or gross negligence, or perhaps not negligence at all? If ESI spoilation occurs, how severe should be the penalties for your client? The trial courts […] Read more »
Reading deposition into evidence Law and the theatre: reading a deposition into evidence Consider the courtroom reading as theater: “activity considered in terms of its dramatic quality”. This article contains twelve theatrical tips in checklist form. These are a dozen ideas to use in transforming a boring hour of someone reading into an interesting part of the trial. Unfortunately […] Read more »
Practical tips for improving your negotiations Tips on Negotiating Settlements Most disputes which lawyers are asked about do not end up in the courts, instead they are settled by way of some form of compromise between the parties – a negotiated agreement. Getting the best settlement for the client can often involve some skilful negotiation. Learning about the skills — and […] Read more »
Persuader’s Real Rules of Exhibit Evidence The Persuader’s Real Rules of Exhibits Most lawyers don’t know how to use exhibits effectively to persuade the jury. So we have started a series of the practical rules of using your exhibits. You might call them The Persuader’s Real Rules of Exhibits. This first article in this series sets out the “The Persuader’s Real […] Read more »
Patient’s right to get changes made in the medical record The patient’s right to change the medical record — an opportunity for both sides of the BI case By Leonard Bucklin Attorneys for bodily injured claimants – are you inspecting and changing medical records? Attorneys for the defense – when there is the slightest chance the plaintiff will dispute the accuracy of a medical record […] Read more »
Organization Wins! in Litigation Use a SOP Checklist. (Tip #1 in our Top Ten Organizational Tips.) The only way to keep your lawyer’s cases moving ahead without dropped opportunities, missed deadlines, and lack of applicable facts and law is to have a checklist-style Standard Operating Procedure, or SOP. Of course, you must not only have an SOP. You and […] Read more »
Motion in your pocket to prevent the taking of a deposition Why you need a form “in your pocket” to prevent the taking of a deposition. As an attorney for a party, the only legal remedy you have to protect your client against an adverse party’s subpoena or notice of deposition is — a motion to suppress the deposition. The law is clear on two points: […] Read more »
Handling the “I don’t know” response This is a Power Litigation™ article or Bucklin Trial Notebook™ article authored by Leonard Bucklin, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship is by invitation only, and is limited to 500 trial lawyers in the United States. Trial lawyers are invited to become Fellows only after a vetting process that includes inquiries […] Read more »