We work on both sides of the table, and although our primary market is the California courts, we do cover other areas now and then, including a recent New York arbitration we handled in conjunction with the New York office of On the Record. Coincidentally, we recently won an award in New York Law Journal Magazine.We have enjoyed our share of successes in the "W" column for both plaintiff and defense, including a recent Defense verdict in Los Angeles, and an SF Bay Area case in which an elevator was repaired with a zip tie, resulting in a $5.6M verdict. Plaintiff

Pick any two: Price, Quality, ServiceAlthough it would be difficult to nail down every litigation matter within the boundaries of the Project Management Triangle (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_triangle), there are certainly some grains of truth to be found.1. Price – The lowest bid wins!Unless you work for a government agency and are forced to award a contract to the lowest bidder regardless of qualifications and experience, this might not always be the best option. That’s not to imply you shouldn’t be cost-conscious, but there is a lot more to the game than who’s the cheapest you can find? If you’re just looking

Trial or Settle? Trick or Treat?I’ve enjoyed the opportunity of congratulating a client on settling their matter prior to trial. Many times. Perhaps too many times. While I do have a vested interest in the case going to trial, I can certainly understand any reluctance on the part of a litigant or counsel, given the incredibly high level of stress and risk involved. What are a few of the factors to be considered?1. How have settlement negotiations been going? Are the numbers getting closer together, or does one side expect the other to give it all up? Settlement is not

LitigationWorld: Micro-Symposium on Valuable Lessons From Memorable Trials All trials have moments of drama from which litigators learn valuable lessons. This issue of LitigationWorld features a micro-symposium with six such lessons. These memorable trial events and resulting tips from Ted Brooks, Karen Koehler, Benjamin G. Shatz, Neil J. Squillante, Thomas H. Vidal, and Edward Zohn encompass courtroom decorum, direct testimony, cross examination, demonstrative evidence, impeachment, and trial strategy. (This was first published on Technolawyer's LitigationWorld newsletter. I have shared my contribution below, and would be happy to forward a copy of the entire newsletter email upon request. Email requests to tbrooks@litigationtech.com). Ted

TechnoLawyer's LitigationWorld newsletter just published an excellent set of 9 different perspectives on trial presentation apps and software. Authors (limited to 175 words) include Ken Broda-Bahm, Ted Brooks (hey, that's me!), Russell Cardon, Mitch Jackson, Karen Koehler, Ian O'Flaherty, Timothy Piganelli, Jeff Richardson, and Thomas Vidal. If you're a subscriber, I welcome your comments and feedback here - from YOUR perspective. If you didn't receive it, I would be happy to forward the entire LitigationWorld email newsletter to you - just PM or email me your email address and I'll send it. My email is tbrooks@litigationtech.com. Once you've had a

One Exhibit You NEVER Want to See(click to zoom in)Can you recall watching some case where an exhibit like this might be appropriate? This is one trial exhibit you never want to see – at least as the Defendant in your own trial. I can tell you that I’ve seen plenty of cases where a client might have had a decent chance of prevailing, had they decided to try filing something like this. With Florida recently joining, over half of the States have now adopted the revised version of Rule 1.1 in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The

The Vanishing Civil Jury Trial - In case you’re the only one who hasn’t noticed, there seems to be a trend toward keeping litigation matters away from the eyes of a jury. This means fewer trials in the courts, followed by fewer attorneys with trial experience. Attorney Gary Gwilliam wrote about this in Plaintiff Magazine a few years ago. The "Hot Seat"Although many cases are settling or going to arbitration, there are times when an agreement simply cannot be reached. It’s not always a clear argument of right and wrong. If it were, there would be no need to litigate.

We’ve shared a few “Greatest Hits” lists over the years, and so here’s the next installment. Although we get a great deal of traffic from Google and other web searches, we also have our “Top 10 This Week” list, a blog-specific Search feature, and of course, our Complete Archive Directory. All of these may be found to the right and below this article.Rather than just another list of favorites, this is a topical directory of a few articles in each category, featuring several of the best articles on this blog. If you have a topic of interest, or are looking

I frequently use Microsoft PowerPoint to create and display demonstrative graphics used in Opening Statements, Closing Arguments, and with Expert Witnesses. Although professional graphic artists also use tools such as Adobe’s Illustrator and Photoshop, in the hands of an experienced user, PowerPoint can accomplish many of the same tasks, and it is much easier to work with. In addition, it is often used to present demonstratives in the courtroom – regardless of which software was used to design them.Demonstratives: Making Effective Graphics for TrialPublished by National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), John Cleaves’ recent book offers an in-depth look at

Regardless how large your trial may be, saving your client a little money is usually a good thing -- at least when it doesn't come at the cost of compromised quality (or malpractice). Here are a few possible ways to reduce some of your trial costs. Joint Trial ExhibitsMany courts appreciate (and some require) parties to agree upon and submit a set of Joint Trial Exhibits. A good place to start would be the deposition exhibits – particularly if they have been sequentially numbered from the outset, rather than starting over with each deponent. Here – let me repeat that: Sequentially