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Each of our consultants has background
in particular areas of social science and the law. To help direct you to resources
that we think are particularly helpful in mastering trial skills and understanding
juror behavior and decision-making, we are preparing brief reviews of books
and articles that may not otherwise cross your desk. Keep looking back for
new reviews!
Our own David B. Graeven, PhD.
contributed to:
King, Raymund C. (2004). Toxic
Mold Litigation. American Bar Association. Chicago, IL.
Businesses are being disrupted, classrooms
sealed, and residents displaced due to mold. Learn more about the hottest
topic in the health, construction, and legal arenas. This new handbook is
designed to assist both the seasoned litigator as well as the new associate
n working up and litigating a mold claim. It reviews toxic mold cases,
covers the science behind mold litigation and provides practical tips and
strategies on assessing the claim and preparing for trial. It also covers
the burgeoning issues involved with mold and insurance coverage, including
detailed examinations of the First Party Policy and the Third Party Policy.
The book includes numerous forms and checklists to assist in your litigation
preparation and offers insightful anecdotal experience that will be of value
to anyone "in the trenches."
From the desk of John Neece, Ph.D.,
J.D., Consultant in our Dallas office:
Frederick, Jeffrey T. (1995). Mastering
Voir Dire and Jury Selection. American Bar Association. Chicago, IL.
This is one of the better books available to assist
attorneys to prepare for and conduct voir dire. Jeffrey Frederick clearly
describes the goals of voir dire, including information gathering, rapport
building, education, and persuasion, and offers examples and methods for
fulfilling these goals. He provides excellent advice to help the attorney
create voir dire questions that will ascertain venire members' opinions,
attitudes, and experiences that relate to the trial issues at hand and,
therefore, will be important in deciding whom to challenge for cause or
for whom to exercise a peremptory challenge. He discusses methods to cope
with common problems attorneys face in voir dire (e.g., the reluctant juror;
coping with contaminating information provided by jurors). Juror questionnaires
are also covered and examples of questionnaires are provided. I believe
that both the inexperienced and the seasoned lawyer will find this book
useful.
Small, Daniel I. (1998). Preparing
Witnesses: A Practical Guide for Lawyers and Their Clients. American
Bar Association. Chicago, IL.
This is a concise, practical book that can be used to
help attorneys prepare their clients and witnesses for testimony (including
deposition, hearings, and trial testimony). The book presents simple principles
and guidelines which attorneys can teach their witnesses to follow. Major
portions of the book are written as if the author were speaking to a witness,
so that attorneys can use that language to share directly with their own
witnesses. A computer diskette comes with the book. The diskette contains
written guidelines that attorneys can download and provide to their witnesses.
Daniel Small's book is very beneficial for covering the basics of preparing
the witness. It does not delve deeply into the complexities of preparing
"difficult" witnesses or working with witnesses to handle many
of the more intricate challenges they may face when examined by opposing
counsel.
Lubet, Stephen. (1998). Expert
Testimony: A Guide for Expert Witnesses and the Lawyers Who Examine Them.
National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Notre Dame, IN.
Jurors tend to mistrust expert witnesses, describing
them as the "hired guns" of the attorneys who retained them. At
the same time, jurors frequently rely on the testimony of the expert witness
to help them analyze and make sense of the plethora of facts before them.
Stephen Lubet explains how expert witnesses who present their theories,
methods, and data in a clear manner that jurors can understand and personally
relate to, are the experts who will have the greatest impact at trial. Lubet
discusses various strategies which lawyers and experts can use to convey
an understandable and meaningful message to jurors. He also explores strategies,
or "tricks of the trade", that opposing counsel will use in cross-examination
to attack the expert and the message the expert wishes to convey. Lubet
provides excellent suggestions to prepare the witness to be ready for such
tactics in cross-examination. Attorneys will find these suggestions beneficial
in preparing not only expert witnesses, but their clients and fact witnesses
as well.
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