The 8 Second Rule That’s Costing You Verdicts [Ep 144]

In this episode, Elizabeth tackles the challenge of capturing and maintaining attention in legal settings, emphasizing the importance of the critical eight-second window to engage audiences like judges, mediators, opposing counsel, and juries. Discover methods to simplify complex legal jargon and prevent cognitive overload, ensuring clarity in your arguments.

Elizabeth dives into crafting compelling trial strategies, focusing on the power of visual comparisons and thematic development in opening statements to effectively counter defense narratives. Whether it’s contrasting visuals or structuring arguments to reinforce your points, these techniques will elevate your trial preparations.

In this episode, you will hear:

  • Mastering attention in legal settings using the critical 8 second rule
  • Simplifying complex legal jargon to avoid cognitive overload
  • Utilizing visual comparisons and thematic development in trial strategies
  • Integrating visuals with verbal communication for enhanced audience engagement

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Supporting Resources:

Do you have an upcoming trial and want help writing your opening statement? Book a free call with Elizabeth to see how she can help.

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    Episode Transcript

    Welcome to the podcast Trial Lawyer Prep. I’m your host, Elizabeth Larrick, trial lawyer turned consultant here to help lawyers clearly communicate their cases in order to win.

    In today’s episode, we will directly speak to how we can hold people’s attention and not lose it. We have eight seconds to grab people’s attention. We already know as lawyers that attention spans are getting smaller and smaller. It really doesn’t matter who your audience is. It could be a judge, a mediator, opposing counsel, or a jury. Either way, we have eight seconds. If we lose that eight seconds, it is costing you verdicts, winning, possibly even settling cases quicker.

    This episode, we want to talk about how we can work through that eight seconds to grab attention, but also to avoid cognitive overload, giving people too much at one time. I want to express all the things that we have found in doing focus group research, going to trials, and getting feedback to understand what worked. And of course, we know when it doesn’t.

    So let’s talk about our eight seconds. There’s so much research that goes into our attention spans. Tons of marketing companies pour millions of dollars into figuring out what is the attention span. And right now, most current research I would say is eight seconds. What we really want to know is how to get that eight seconds down and keep their attention. We’ve seen this before. If you’ve watched any of the CLEs that talk about opening statements, if you’ve read any of the fabulous books that are out there about setting up and structuring opening statements, you will know that the instruction, the request is to start with a hook. Start with a simple attention-grabbing sentence. This case is about boom, boom, boom, starting with a statistic because we want to grab that attention, right? Get those brains going.

    The other thing that we want to make sure that we do is then be able to keep that attention without overloading or overwhelming our brains. What happens is we unknowingly provide a bulk of information that overwhelms our brains and they end up being turned off. When you’re speaking, you’re giving folks a good rundown of the case, maybe you’re rundown the evidence, maybe the standard that applies. When you do that, if a juror or anyone in your audience hears a word that they don’t understand or maybe a phrase, or maybe it’s just how you’ve actually phrased the sentence, their whole brain will stop processing anything else and direct all the energy into figuring out that one word, that one phrase, or trying to restructure the sentence to figure out what you’re saying. Meanwhile, you’re still talking and delivering information and they’re not receiving any of what happens then? Well, maybe they keep trying to listen. Maybe they go to something else and think about other things. Maybe they think about what they’re going to have for lunch. Either way, they’re not listening to you. Either fill in the gap with what they think you said, taking a guess, or they just sit back and just resolve that they’re just not gonna understand. It makes no difference to them. And they’re just not gonna pay attention. I don’t want that for you. I want you to be able to grab people’s attention. I want you to work through cognitive overload.

    And so we’ve got three plus a bonus that we’re gonna talk about here today that you can work through and these are simple things, there are three very simple things we can do with any presentation you’re about to give. So think about opening statement, think about mediation, think about an upcoming hearing that you have. All three of these things can be applied to any presentation you’re about to give so that you don’t lose someone’s attention or you don’t sit in their brain on a scavenger hunt trying to figure out a word or a phrase that you use. And again, these are time-tested results, done focus groups on these topics, read books on these topics, and again, taking these things to trial to test it out.

    Number one is linguistics or language. We are really known for using some large legal terms, medical terms that really can stump jurors. I see this very often in focus groups and the easy thing to do is just pair. I know that we have to use certain languages in certain cases. We have to do it. The law requires us. I understand that. I’m not trying to fight against that, but what I want you to do is pair it. And you heard me already do that. When I said linguistic, I paired it with language. So I want to give you a couple other examples that have gone through focus groups. And we have heard directly, right, that these are things that need to be paired. So medical malpractice cases are great examples of this. And we once had a medical malpractice unfortunately the person developed some eschar. Well, that’s dead tissue. Now the lawyer used this word no less than 10 times.

    And that was the first question we got when I asked for what do you think? What is your impression from this information? They were like, I don’t know what that word is. Even though, right, he may have explained it, because he kept using it, the brain kept getting stumped again and again and again. And so all we did was very simply reduce the amount of times you use the word, but also we just paired it together. We gave it a little sidecar, right? Like, eschar, dead tissue. It just goes right along together, so they pair together. Another example here recently was uncontrolled intersection. Now that stumped me because I don’t know really what that means.

    So we paired it together with an intersection without any signal or sign with how to direct traffic. Now that’s a long pairing, it was a key element in the facts of the case. So I didn’t want to lose the people in the focus group early. And then I paired it with a I said uncontrolled intersection showed a picture and then I paired it. An intersection without signs or signals that direct traffic. Boom, simple, right? Super simple. Again, these are simple tips, but we tend to overlook them. So number one, think language when you’re walking through your presentation. How can I pair my language or change the language, remove it altogether to make it very simple?

    Number two is structure. Number one, let’s just have it. A lot of times we put together arguments, we put together presentations, and we don’t really think through the structure. So this is where we’ve talked about rules of three. We’re going to say it again, rules of three, working memory in our brain can hold three to five things. So if we already say, I’m going to walk through three can handle three. That’s easy. But when you can structure it and a lot of times people say, well, but what if this particular case m is going to have six different questions in the verdict form. Or what if the law has five elements? Okay, so we’re getting into the nitty-gritty here. When we wanna structure things in a three, we wanna go to that 30,000 foot view and try to get broad and then group it together. This will also really help you cut the fluff. Right, so if we’re making our strongest argument, not everything can go in there. it’s either fit in or it’s not. It’s not gonna be important. But not every detail’s important when we give our first presentation, right? Thinking about you’ve written a motion. You’ve given pages of information over to the judge and now you’re going to stand up and give your argument. You don’t need to hit everything in that motion. You need to hit the strongest things. You’d have strong structure and hit the top thing. And the same thing happens with an opening statement, You can’t give them everything in the opening statement. It’s overwhelming. You will lose them. So you want to make sure you structure it down to those three different pieces, right? Rule of threes. and then everything else can be saved for gonna actually give it more emphasis by targeting it later in cross exam or direct exam, okay?

    Alright, next one is cognitive space. So this just means that when we look at our sentence structure, we make it simple. We don’t have long, dense sentences with lots of information. We take those apart and we give simple sentences that are very short and sweet and to the point. Alright, so if you’re gonna talk about a car crash. m on July 6th, it was a stormy, rainy night when the car was going eastbound on 35 with slick rain on bald tires. That’s kind of a lot. You really wanna break that down. There are lots of pieces in there that are helpful to the story, so just take it back, And realize what’s really important here. Is July 6th important to what the jury needs to hear? Not likely. So what is it? It’s the weather, it’s the bald tires, maybe it’s you’re on a highway. How many lanes are on that you’re just gonna break that down and when you do that, you’re giving space for the brain to process. Instead of trying to cram six things in a one sentence, we’re spacing it out. also make it easier on your audience who is listening.

    Alright. Last bonus point I will say, and we will do an entire episode on this because I know how important it is to have a visual presentation that matches what you’re saying. So I talked a little bit about this. earlier we talked about showing a picture of an uncontrolled intersection while pairing it with what it we in order to grab attention and keep attention, we want to use visuals that convey our message but not duplicate our message. So many times when we’re using PowerPoint, we’ll just put the words on the screen and then we’ll read them. This actually compounds the difficulty of working memory. Makes it difficult. So what you wanna do is you wanna be able to pair your message, right, visually with what you’re saying. You don’t want it to be a duplication. And when you do that, people will pay more attention. Just typically, people identify as visual learners, even though learning styles have been debunked, that’s okay. If we wanna speak to how each person learns in your audience. I mean, if you have a jury, you have probably many different styles or many different ways that people want to learn. So you’re gonna hit both of them. You’re gonna have the visual, you’re gonna have the verbal, and that’s gonna key in on keeping our eight seconds, keeping things moving. keeping people’s attention, but also allowing some space. Because as you put together your presentation, you’re gonna wanna follow the same rules. If you put a word on the screen, maybe you’re gonna verbally pair it with a simpler term. You’re gonna use simple structure on your PowerPoint slides, right? Not dense wording. And then of course, you also wanna make sure when you structure it, It follows with what you’re saying.

    Wanna talk a little bit about an example here recently, and we just had. So I worked with a lawyer, we’d done three short virtual focus groups on the same case over a period of a year as they got ready to prepare for trial, to prepare for mediation. tested many different things. We parts of the story, pieces of the defense arguments, and then it was getting ready for trial. So we came together for what I would call a strategy session. We each did our own homework, looking at the past focus groups. We wanted to look at what is working, what is not working, and how do we need to structure this opening statement.

    So thinking through our eight seconds, we want to know what had to go first, right? Primacy. would be the hook that we would need to do? And then we also looked at what was working for the defense. and what was being tapped into. And again, we’re obviously running these focus groups and playing the defense. The point of view that was being tapped into was significantly defense. And so they were tapping into the point of view of the juror as a homeowner. And this particular case involves an knew, oh okay, we need to get ahead of this. This may need to be the thing you do very first, the primacy. We have to set this out straight for them and in a very simple way.

    And so that was what we worked on. The rules that a business must follow to keep their place safe and how it’s different than a homeowner. we needed to think about how to educate them very simply, but then also even pair that with questions and jury selection. in that hour that we spent together, we really just worked on what would be first had to grab their attention, but also set things straight in a very simple language, very simple structure, And then ultimately had to make it very have this eight seconds. And through that visual comparison. Even if our slide had a business building versus a home, that would still be able to bring up different things in their mind on top of what the lawyer would have been saying an opening statement. So we were able to get a lot of work done on our themes, on our structure, and how to get out in front of oh the point of view that the defense was using to win the case.

    Alright, I hope that this episode was helpful to you. If you are preparing for trial and you want to review your opening statement, maybe look at injecting case themes, I can help with that. There’ll be a link in the show a free consultation call if you’re interested. Alright, thank you so much for tuning in to this episode and until next time, thank you.

    Rewiring Witness Prep: 3 Brain Science Strategies Every Trial Lawyer Needs [Ep 143]

    Elizabeth explores the application of brain science in witness preparation, offering trial lawyers strategies to enhance deposition prep. This episode focuses on leveraging the limbic system and amygdala to reduce stress and improve memory retention, moving away from fear-based tactics. Elizabeth discusses the importance of engaging clients by addressing their concerns and shares methods to counteract the forgetting curve through repetition and structured sessions.

    Elevate your practice with these insights for building a strong foundation in witness preparation. Elizabeth highlights the significance of understanding and applying brain science to transform the way trial lawyers approach witness prep. By addressing the emotional and cognitive needs of clients, lawyers can create a more supportive and effective preparation process. The episode emphasizes the benefits of using technology and structured repetition to ensure that clients are well-prepared, confident, and able to retain crucial information.

    In this episode, you will hear:

    • Transforming witness preparation using brain science techniques
    • Avoiding fear-based tactics to enhance client memory retention
    • Importance of repetition to combat the forgetting curve
    • Empowering clients with confidence and clarity through tailored strategies

    Supporting Resources:

    Learn more about the Forgetting Curve

    Need to earn CLE credit and learn more about witness preparation? Check out my in-depth presentation: Witness Prep That Works through ALI CLE.

    Set up a free call to talk to Elizabeth about her witness prep services: www.calendly.com/elizabethlarrick

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      Avoid This Mistake if You Plan to Use Focus Group Clips in Mediation [Ep 142]

      Explore the potential of focus groups to elevate your mediation success with insights from Elizabeth Larrick. This episode is a must-listen for trial lawyers looking to refine their negotiation strategies. Elizabeth shares the strategic advantages of conducting focus groups two to three months before mediation to influence insurance company figures effectively. She distinguishes between focus groups for trial preparation and those tailored specifically for mediation, offering techniques to maintain confidentiality while utilizing focus group findings to drive better settlements.

      Elizabeth emphasizes the critical importance of early preparation, providing ample time to share insights with the opposing side ahead of mediation. This proactive approach enhances negotiation effectiveness and informs decision-making. 

      In this episode, you will hear:

      • Strategic use of focus groups to enhance mediation success
      • Importance of conducting focus groups 2-3 months prior to mediation
      • Differentiating focus groups for mediation from those for trial preparation
      • Techniques for maintaining confidentiality while sharing focus group insights
      • Leveraging mediators to communicate focus group findings effectively

      Supporting Resources:

      In case you missed it, here is Episode 139 that talks about using focus groups in discovery. Listen here.

      Curious about doing a focus group for your upcoming mediation? Schedule a free call to see how Elizabeth can help.

      Join the
      Trial Lawyer Prep
      Newsletter

      Every month I send out an email newsletter that provides valuable insights on:

      – case preparation

      – trial strategy

      – focus groups

      – witness preparation, and

      – episodes of my podcast

      Additionally the TLP Newsletter is where I announce the opening of my Foundations Virtual Focus Group Class, and other upcoming opportunities.

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        Hey Lawyers, You Don’t Need a Psych Degree to Run a Focus Group! [Ep 141]

        In this episode of Trial Lawyer Prep, Elizabeth Larrick discusses the importance of focus groups for lawyers and dispels the myth that a psychology degree is necessary to conduct them. She outlines three key steps to running effective focus groups: having a clear goal, making a plan, and doing a test run of the presentation. Larrick emphasizes the need for lawyers to prepare adequately to avoid confusion and ensure they receive valuable feedback. She also addresses the issue of bias and encourages lawyers to seek help if they feel too biased to run a focus group themselves.

        Takeaways:

        • You don’t need a psych degree to run a focus group.
        • Having a clear goal is essential for focus groups.
        • Planning is crucial to avoid confusion during focus groups.
        • A test run can help identify issues in your presentation.
        • Lawyers often talk too much and don’t listen enough.

        Check out my detailed blog about planning and moderating your own virtual focus groups.

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          Episode Transcript

          Elizabeth Larrick (00:25.016)
          Are you putting barriers to starting your own focus groups? Maybe you think you need to be qualified or have some kind of certification before you start? Well tune into this episode and we’ll give you the answer so you can get going right away.

          Hello and welcome to Trial Lawyer Prep. I’m your host, Elizabeth Larrick, and we are here to talk all things preparation. That would be trial prep, trial strategy, focus groups, witness prep, persuasion, courtroom tactics. We are glad that you are here. In this episode, I wanna bust down a myth that you don’t need to have a psych degree in order to run your own focus groups.

          Because I want every lawyer to be running their own focus groups to make better decisions in their cases. If we run focus groups, we can have better direction for where we’re taking our claims. We can have a better understanding of how jurors think about things, because guess what? Lawyers don’t think the same way as jurors. And also I want you to have the confidence that people gain from hearing others talk about their case. So.

          I don’t want you to place any extra barriers in your way. And what I have heard many times talking to folks, talking to lawyers about doing focus groups and really specifically, it’s a question people always ask me. Well, do you have a psych degree? I don’t, but I do have training and that’s what we talk about a lot here to be able to do focus groups in a way.

          So I want to use this episode to give you the three things that you can do right now so you can get over that hurdle that you don’t necessarily have a psych degree, you don’t have any special thoughts or training. Listen, the purpose of a focus group is to get an outside perspective. So there are three things you can do before you begin to help you prepare yourself for a positive and successful focus group.

          Elizabeth Larrick (02:32.008)
          So number one, you want to make sure you have a clear goal in mind. Many times lawyers come to me and they’re not really sure the case has several different issues, but we always want to be able to prioritize what is the thing you need to know right now. What is the decision that you’re having to make right now? Maybe it’s about settlement. Maybe it’s about moving towards spending extra money on experts or trial, or maybe it’s about taking more depositions.

          or pursuing a specific kind of claim, either way, you wanna be able to have a goal in mind. I want feedback on this issue. I want feedback on that issue. When we run virtual focus groups, we look at the collective amount of time that we have, and I tell lawyers point blank, you only have time for one issue, or you only have time for two issues. Or if you’re really just looking for general feedback, like that’s fine, but.

          I think it’s much better if we have a goal in mind. Because once we have our goal in mind, that will then set us up to be able to prepare and plan better. Which is number two thing that you need when you’re starting to do focus groups, or if you’re already doing focus groups, having number one, a clear goal, and number two, having a plan. Now, I see too many lawyers come in and just completely wing it. And let me tell ya.

          It is not helpful because what ends up happening is you, the lawyer, talk way more than our participants. You end up bombarding them with tons of information. Sometimes it’s organized, sometimes it’s not, but really you spend most of the time just talking and not listening. And so a plan can really help us understand we have our goal in mind. Let’s take an example. Let’s say it’s liability. Let’s say it’s a red light.

          he said, she said, she said, he said kind of situation. And you really need to figure out who are they gonna believe. Okay, well that’s our one, our goal is to figure out what are we do on liability here with our swearing match? And so we have a plan. Do we approach it neutrally? Do we approach it from one side only? Do we approach it from two sides? Having that plan and knowing, okay, here’s where we’re gonna go. We’re gonna be neutral, Elizabeth, okay.

          Elizabeth Larrick (04:54.654)
          So let’s get all of our facts and let’s put them in a neutral light. Okay, now that may be difficult for you to do and that’s okay, but what we wanna make sure that we’re doing is we have a plan with how much information we’re gonna give, what we’re gonna stay away from, which is super important, because many times people wanna add in that extra fact that maybe it’s not even allowed into evidence. My example in a liability case is people always wanna talk about in a regular.

          car crash case, people not having a driver’s license, which is not admissible in Texas. And it, I’ve seen it happen and it just tanks the whole focus group, okay, which means it makes it unreliable feedback. You always wanna have reliable feedback. And if you have got a clear goal in mind, you’re making a plan, and then finally, before you even get started, you do a test run of your presentation.

          So I want to give a good example here where I had a younger lawyer who’s coming to me. He’s got two hours to go He’s got a pretty complicated electrocution case With a couple of holes in the facts. They’re just not ever able to fill there were no eyewitnesses And so he creates PowerPoint we walk through it together And I give some ideas I tell him hands a little too much information and to go fix a few of these things Well, he comes to the focus group and it was very clear he had not run through the PowerPoint before he turned on the Zoom to join with people because he just rambled and rambled and went on. And unfortunately, it became very confusing for the group. And so it was difficult to get good feedback when people are just confused. It’s kind of a, I’ll just say it, it’s a cop out. Like, I don’t understand, I’m confused. Or the other one is, well, I have so many more questions.

          I wouldn’t be able to answer how I feel or what I think about it because I have so many questions, right? I don’t want that to happen to you, okay? Psych degree or not, that’s just kinda what happens when we get into a place where we’re not really sure. We just end up talking a little more, lawyer or not, it just happens. So, I want you to be able to do a test run before you jump into that focus group because we don’t wanna miss anything.

          Elizabeth Larrick (07:10.562)
          but also we wanna make sure that we fix anything in our presentation that may need to be fixed. There are plenty of times where I put together a PowerPoint, get going, and I do a test run and I realize, whoa, all these animations are off or there is no animation so they can’t see everything. A test run is a great way and it doesn’t take long. You could just go through your slide deck and then you’re done, right? Just print out your materials and read through it. That is what I mean by a test run. It doesn’t have to be difficult. But what you will find is, I could say that

          with a little more clarity. I can see that we need to add a little more information here or look at me, I’m adding in an extra issue that I may be worried about that we didn’t put into our plan. So it’s really helpful also to avoid wasting any time in a focus group. If you have all of your visuals ready, then you don’t waste any time going to find them or making sure that they work. I’ve seen this happen, unfortunately, too many times where people say, well, I have this picture I want to show you.

          but they don’t have it ready. Or they realize, oh wait, I have another one I wanna show you and they have to go find it, right? Well, all that time that they’re just sitting there staring, right? That’s time that we’re not getting feedback. So I really want you to do a test run to avoid wasting time. So we’ve got our three things that you need to make you feel a little better, get over that barrier of starting a focused group. Number one, have a clear goal in mind. Number two, make a plan. And number three, do a test run.

          Okay, now that’s all gonna get you over that hump of getting that thing started and then that feedback is just gonna roll on in. And from there, it’s just making sure that we don’t pull ourselves back into a place of arguing with others. And that’s a real common pitfall I wanna talk about. Many lawyers come to me and they say, oh, I’m fine, I know this case forward and backwards, I don’t really need to plan, it’ll just come out naturally. Well, what ends up happening is again, you bombard them with so many facts.

          and there’s not a lot of clear organization, because your brain’s jumping around to all the different issues that ends up getting so confusing that you don’t really get any good feedback. I also remind people, you would never walk into court without having a clear plan, a clear opening statement, even at a minimum, an outline, because you don’t have an unlimited amount of time.

          Elizabeth Larrick (09:32.782)
          to talk to these jurors so you always have a plan in mind, an organization. So why would you walk in a folks group without a plan? Okay, the other thing that I hear or a common pitfall that I see is assuming people are a natural presenter. Oh, it’s very natural for me. I don’t really need to do a test run. Again, we run into rambling and also a little bit of a hitch in the get up. If there is a problem, then a little bit of panic sets in.

          And again, I don’t want you to worry about wasting the time when you could be getting feedback. So having that test run solves that whole problem. So you may be thinking though, Elizabeth, if we do all of this, what if you realized, you know what, at the end of the day, I am just way too biased. Like I’m gonna end up arguing with somebody or I’m so entrenched that I’m gonna start asking questions like.

          Well, what if you knew about this fact? Or what if hypothetically this thing happened, right? All those questions are you putting your finger on the scale and weighing them down to bias it. So that is an excellent question to be asking yourself, is am I too biased to even do a focus group? Because, again, the purpose is to find the information, not argue with the people. You don’t always wanna win, sometimes you just need to do the research.

          then you can always find somebody else in your office that can run the focus group or you can hire someone. I don’t know if you know this, but this is something that I do. But also I help people, for example, in some of my focus groups, I help people be able to get through that bias and teach themselves how to get information without revealing their bias. Again, this is where it goes back to our whole theme here. You don’t need a psychic degree to run a focus group. You need a plan.

          You need a clear goal and you need to do a test run just to double check yourself and make sure that you’re giving them all the information in the correct way. All right, if you are curious about more information on planning and preparing for a focus group, I’ve written an in-detail blog that I will put a link to in the show notes if you want more information. And of course, naturally, if you need more help,

          Elizabeth Larrick (11:48.14)
          Don’t hesitate to book a call with me about focus groups. I’m always here and generous with my time to make sure that you can get what you need from a focus group. All right, I hope this episode was helpful and until next time, thank you.

          Replay: Guest Joseph Rosenfeld, Image Consultant, on Personal Image for Lawyers [Ep 140]

          Learn more about Joseph Rosenfeld

          Website for Lawyers & Experts

          LinkedIn

          Email: Joseph@Josephrosenfeld.com

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            Start Your Case on the Right Path: Using a Focus Group Before Discovery [Ep 139]

            In this episode, Elizabeth Larrick discusses the importance of using Zoom focus groups before discovery in trial preparation. She outlines the benefits of these focus groups, including setting the right direction for a case, avoiding wasted time on irrelevant claims, and utilizing feedback effectively. Through a case study involving a school district, she illustrates how focus groups can help identify critical information and prevent surprises during the discovery process.

            Takeaways

            • Using Zoom focus groups can set the right direction for a case.
            • Focus groups help avoid wasting time on irrelevant claims.
            • Even minimal information can yield valuable feedback from focus groups.
            • Feedback from focus groups can be reused throughout the case.

            Follow and Review:

            We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

            Supporting Resources:

            Have questions about Zoom Focus groups? Set up a Free call with Elizabeth here.

            Depositions Are Trial by Sach Oliver

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              Guest Ben Gideon on Helping Trial Lawyers Assess Risk Better [Ep 138]

              Guest Ben Gideon explores the complex world of risk assessment in trial law. Despite their bold reputations, trial lawyers often lean towards risk-averse strategies, favoring settlements over trials. Ben reflects on his recent trial loss to analyze cognitive biases in decision-making and emphasizes the importance of embracing risk to secure significant verdicts.

              Drawing parallels between trial law and high-stakes poker, Ben discusses how both fields rely on probabilistic thinking and expected value calculations. He shares strategies for managing risk across multiple cases, similar to a poker player handling various hands, and highlights the differing risk levels faced by lawyers and their clients.

              In this episode, you will hear:

              • Insights from Ben Gideon on risk assessment in trial law
              • Exploration of trial lawyers’ risk-averse tendencies and the impact of cognitive biases
              • Importance of data-driven approaches and probabilistic thinking in legal decision-making
              • Balancing client emotions and cognitive biases during negotiations and mediations

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              Supporting Resources:

              Guest Ben Gideon of Gideon Asen

              Email: bgideon@gideonasenlaw.com

              Website: https://www.gideonasen.com/our-team/benjamin-gideon/

              Podcast: https://www.elawvate.fm/

              Books referenced in the episode:

              On Edge: The Are of Risking Everything by Nate Silver 

              Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

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                How to Work in Your Trial Strategy with Your Client’s Testimony [Ep 137]

                In this episode, Elizabeth goes into crafting authentic client testimonies to enhance courtroom success. She emphasizes avoiding scripted testimonies that erode credibility and offers strategies to naturally integrate case themes into client testimonies. Elizabeth outlines three key steps: avoid making clients memorize phrases, review their past statements, and conduct prep sessions to help them organize thoughts on damages or liability. This approach ensures that testimonies subtly echo case themes, maintaining authenticity and strengthening trial strategies. 

                In this episode, you will hear:

                • Crafting authentic and impactful client testimonies for courtroom success
                • Avoiding pitfalls of scripted testimonies to maintain credibility
                • Integrating case themes into all trial stages, from jury selection to opening statements
                • Strategies for making client testimonies resonate with jurors
                • Emphasizing authenticity and emotional connection in witness preparation

                Follow and Review:

                We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

                Supporting Resources:

                Have a challenging client or up-coming trial that you want to polish client testimony?

                Book a free call: https://calendly.com/elizabethlarrick

                Episode 131: What is Trial Strategy and What it is NOT

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                – case preparation

                – trial strategy

                – focus groups

                – witness preparation, and

                – episodes of my podcast

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                  Why Zoom Focus Groups Should Be Your First Thought Compared to In Person [Ep 136]

                  In this episode, Elizabeth shares expert insights on transforming your trial preparation with Zoom focus groups. Discover the unique benefits of virtual sessions, including the ability to capture participants’ facial reactions up close, which can’t be replicated in traditional settings. Elizabeth uses her extensive experience and real-world examples to demonstrate how these online gatherings can deepen your understanding of juror behavior, enhancing your courtroom strategies.

                  Learn about the convenience and flexibility that Zoom focus groups offer, saving time and resources while allowing you to experiment with different formats. Elizabeth compares virtual and in-person focus groups, highlighting the distinct interactions possible through Zoom. Tune in to explore how these insights can strengthen your connections with clients and juries, ultimately boosting your effectiveness in court. Whether you’re a seasoned lawyer or new to virtual focus groups, this episode offers valuable strategies for your legal practice.

                  In this episode, you will hear:

                  • Advantages of Zoom focus groups over traditional in-person settings
                  • Benefits of capturing close-up participant reactions on Zoom
                  • Cost-effectiveness and convenience of online focus groups
                  • Flexibility and freedom in structuring virtual sessions
                  • Use cases for Zoom focus groups in pre-lawsuit and pre-mediation stages

                  Follow and Review:

                  We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

                  Join the
                  Trial Lawyer Prep
                  Newsletter

                  Every month I send out an email newsletter that provides valuable insights on:

                  – case preparation

                  – trial strategy

                  – focus groups

                  – witness preparation, and

                  – episodes of my podcast

                  Additionally the TLP Newsletter is where I announce the opening of my Foundations Virtual Focus Group Class, and other upcoming opportunities.

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                    Trial Preparation: Zooming out to see the Jury’s Perspective [Ep 135]

                    In this episode of Trial Lawyer Prep, host Elizabeth Larrick presents a structured approach to mastering trial preparation. She emphasizes starting with a comprehensive review of your case file, scrutinizing key documents like depositions and expert reports to identify core issues in liability and damages. This initial step involves crafting two crucial lists to streamline your strategy: one for liability and one for damages, ensuring you are aware of potential pitfalls and ready to advocate effectively in the courtroom.

                    The second step is to evaluate your case through the lens of a juror, focusing on worst-case scenarios and simplifying complex issues into clear yes-or-no decisions. This perspective helps in assessing the risks and understanding what aspects need reinforcement. Finally, Elizabeth discusses strategies for fixing or neutralizing any identified weaknesses, whether by gathering additional evidence, reconsidering claims, or adjusting your trial strategy. By following these steps, trial lawyers can enhance their preparation, connect better with juries, and confidently navigate courtroom challenges.

                    In this episode, you will hear:

                    • Importance of a comprehensive case file review
                    • Crafting liability and damages lists to identify potential issues
                    • Evaluating trial risks through a juror’s worst-case scenario lens
                    • Techniques for fixing or neutralizing problematic issues

                    Follow and Review:

                    We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

                    Supporting Resources:

                    Need that list of books to get your brain excited about trial prep? Go to Episode 134.

                    Join the
                    Trial Lawyer Prep
                    Newsletter

                    Every month I send out an email newsletter that provides valuable insights on:

                    – case preparation

                    – trial strategy

                    – focus groups

                    – witness preparation, and

                    – episodes of my podcast

                    Additionally the TLP Newsletter is where I announce the opening of my Foundations Virtual Focus Group Class, and other upcoming opportunities.

                      How did you hear about me?
                      I am a(n):
                      We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.