Blog Archives

The Corrosive Effects of Greed on Credibility 


I never take on a new client without sharing the quote above with them.  The most valuable component of any personal injury case is the client’s credibility… period, end of case. If you exaggerate or stretch your claim beyond the bounds of your evidence, then your client will lose credibility, devalue your client’s claim and lose their case.

The number one tactic most defense attorneys use to undermine a personal injury case, is to encourage the injured client to overstate or exaggerate their claim while under oath in a deposition or to omit their history of a past injury to the same portion of the body or to hide a prior collision or claim. The client thinks, “Why tell them, they may never find out.”  However, they almost always do. The defense argues, “Why did your client do these things (they said they couldn’t do)?  Simple… because they don’t have a legitimate claim.”

Honesty is not just the best moral policy, it is also the best economic policy when it comes to the value of a personal injury case.  

So don’t forget the quote and don’t let your client forget it either.

Closing Argument – Taking the Wind Out of the Other Side’s Sails before They Leave the Dock

imageIt is important to stick with the argument that you’ve planned out and then aggressively and positively put forward your case. You don’t want to waste too much time responding to the other side’s argument to the detriment of their own. You want to help the jurors reach their own conclusions about the case through the use of rhetorical questions. Give the jury some credit and let them answer the questions you pose. If your rhetorical questions are properly framed, the answer will be obvious.

1. Addressing Your Problems Before the Other Side Does

​Address your own problems before the other side goes on the attack. This allows you the advantage primacy as the jury will hear your arguments first as they mentally work their way through your case. Handle the questions likely to be raised by the defense in a forthright and confident manner. Put forth your best analysis of the evidence in favor of your client.

​2.​ Credibility and Sincerity is Your Greatest Weapon

​State your position with conviction and sincerity. If you exude sincerity, you will gain the trust of the jurors in your analysis of the case. To succeed, your analysis must be an honest one that does not dodge the difficult questions. If you lose your credibility, you lose your ability to persuade.

3. Address Any Weak Points in Your Theory

​You need to anticipate attacks and be ready to address them in a calm and confident fashion so the jury understands that the supposed problems are nothing. You should have laid the groundwork for this in your voir dire of the jury, as well as in your opening statement and the evidence presented.

The Barrister’s Toolbox will hit 50,000 Views today… Now What?

imageToday my blog will have 50,000 views for the over 107 posts I have authored on a number of topics that confronts today’s trial advocate.  My most read topic is about how to handle a deposition errata sheet. I find that quite surprising.  A young attorney from New York called to thank me for the post and followed up with a thank you card.  I still have that card on my desk to remind me why I take the time to blog.

It is nice to give back to the profession and job I love. Back in law school, I knew my goal was to become the best trial attorney and advocate possible.  I have worked on cases involving civil rights, personal injury, product liability, premises liability, defamation, false arrest, medical malpractice, murder, rape, pollution, RICO, wrongful death, mail fraud, gambling, counterfeiting, construction, drug trafficking, pollution, real estate, contract disputes and even a death penalty case.  A few things I take away from all of this is over the last three decades of practice:

  1. Talent is over rated and hard work is under valued.  An average attorney can out work and out hustle       a smarter attorney. Put the time in to do the job right. Always assume your opponent is smarter than you so as too not overlook any key details.
  2. If you get into a new or difficult case don’t be afraid to,ask for help from a more experienced colleague. Your client deserves that much. In fact, join a trial attorney association and participate in it. Seek out mentors… They will help you grow as a professional.
  3. Re beer your reputation and integrity are the most important asset you or your client have, never take a good case and try to make it a great case or you will be left with bad case.
  4. Always continue to learn and hone your skills as a trial attorney.  Otherwise, you will be left behind.
  5. Strive for excellence everyday, but accept the fact that you are only human and will make mistakes and fail from time to time. Embrace your mistakes as your best teachers. The worst mistakes we make are those we repeat. The first sign of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect different results.
  6. Take time to enjoy your life outside of the law. You need balance. While the law is a jealous mistress, it does mean your spouse should be a widow and your children orphans.
  7. The judge may not always be right, but the judge is always “the judge”.  Respect the office even if you don’t respect the man who holds the position.
  8. That being said never be afraid to hold firm in your position for a client.  Courage and fortitude are required. Politely make your record as needed and move on to the next topic. Often times a judge will reverse himself, if you make an offer to prove and stand firm.
  9. Finally, remember it costs you nothing to be a gentleman.  Treat everyone with respect you encounter and it will be returned tenfold.

Credibility, Credibility, Credibiiliy
























Direct Examination and Keeping Company with Honest Serving Men



I kept six honest serving men.
They taught me all I knew.
Their names were what and why and when
and how and where and who.




Teaching Your Client How to Mind Their Manners While on the Stand





Oscar Pistorius Trial: Lying, the Truth and Inaccuracy

The Oscar Pistorius Trial poses a basic question about human beings and credibility. The question being asked: Is he telling the “truth”, or is he a “murderer”? The death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, happened in the dark of the evening after he was roused from his slumber. He claims to have awoken to sounds he believed to be an intruder. How does one decide such a question?

Just about everyone has seen the original Star Wars Trilogy which begins with episode four which starts “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”  In the first movie, Episode IV, Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker is rescued by an old hermit known as old Ben Kenobi, After Luke is rescued by Ben from the sand people, he learns that Ben is really a Jedi Knight, Obi Wan Kenobi, who knew Luke’s father. Luke asks Obi Wan about what happen to his father:

Luke Skywalker: How did my father die?

Obi Wan Kenobi: A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine, was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.  He betrayed and murdered your father.

This sounds like a straight-forward explanation… maybe?  But in the next movie, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, Luke confronts the ‘evil’ Darth Vader.  During their light saber battle, Luke and Vader have the following exchange:

Darth Vader: “Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.”


Darth Vader: “No — I am your father.”

The movie closes with Luke asking why Obi Wan Kenobi did not tell him Vader was his father.

So which is it?  Did Vader kill Luke’s father?  Or is he Luke’s father?  Of course, the story doesn’t end there, and in the third and final movie of the original trilogy, Episode VI, Return of the Jedi, Luke finally gets the answer he deserves to his question about what happened to his father.  Luke returns to finish his Jedi training and asks Yoda if Vader is in fact his father.  After Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke’s father, Luke has this conversation with Obi Wan’s ghost:

Luke Skywalker: Why didn’t you tell me?  You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.

Obi Wan Kenobi: Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force.  He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker, and became Darth Vader.  When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.  So what I told you was true.  From a certain point of view.

Luke Skywalker: A certain point of view?

Obi Wan Kenobi: Luke, you’re going to find that many of the “truths” we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.

And this statement illustrates the difference between truth and accuracy.  Just because someone testifies under oath to something that can be proven false, does not necessarily mean the witness is lying.  Likewise, just because a witness strongly believes what he has testified to, doesn’t mean that he is right. You have to be careful not confuse “sincerity” for “veracity” or “mistake” with “malevolence”. What Obi Wan Kenobi was really trying to tell Luke is that there is a difference between lying, the “truth” and inaccuracy. It all boils down to one’s point of view, their personal biases, opportunity to observe, mental acuity and their skills as an observer.

There is a difference between lying and being mistaken. Mistakes happen all the time. Sometimes people and even animals risk their lives on them. This is what happens when you fish with an artificial bait. You cast out your lure and a fish strikes your lure sincerely believing it is live food. The fish has just a split second to make its decision to strike the “food” before the opportunity is lost. The fish is literally “dead wrong” when it strikes. This is simply a case of “erroneous recognition” by the fish.

It is easy to second guess someone. The decision he made that night did not happen in the calm of the courtroom where the case will be argued.

Here, is he telling  the “truth” based on his own point of view or weaving a lie in the fabric of truth? Just because his point of view differs from what really happened does not mean he is necessarily lying. He could just be sincerely dead wrong.

%d bloggers like this: