Author: elarrickbrand

In today’s episode, we are going to focus on documents in deposition preparation, focusing on clients, not experts. This is an important but highly ignored topic, mainly because as lawyers, we have easy privileges and we don’t get any pushback. However, there may be situations where it’s a really close call. 

No matter where you are in terms of knowledge on this topic or even experience, this is a good refresher because we’re looking at situations and cases that are involving volumes of documents. Think about a business dispute, a personal injury case, or lots of medical records. Think about an employment case where there’s a huge volume of employment files to go through. 

Traditionally, when we’re getting ready for deposition prep, we’re going to use documents to help refresh the client’s memory. Generally speaking, several months or even years can lapse in these lawsuits before the deposition comes around. We want to specifically show pages to the client because we know that they’re going to be scrutinized over what’s in the documents. And so, we want to review them because document questions can be tricky. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• The importance of reviewing documents for deposition preparation
• The role of the lawyer-client privilege
• The communication piece of the lawyer-client privilege
• The work product piece of the lawyer-client privilege
• Determining whether it’s worth the fight

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Supporting Resources:

For Texas lawyers:

Lawyer-Client Privilege Texas Rule of Evidence 503

Work Product Privilege Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 192.5

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their businesses and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Today, we talk about deposition pressure, specifically, this real-life example of the “Elon Musk vs. Twitter” lawsuit.

Just to give you a little backstory, Elon Musk was supposed to buy Twitter, and then he decided to back out in July which prompted Twitter to file a lawsuit. On October 6, Elon Musk was scheduled to face a deposition, and then all of a sudden, a letter comes across from Elon Musk’s lawyer over to the other side, saying that he will follow through. He will do everything in the agreement, as long as they can stop the lawsuit.

This is a perfect example of how deposition pressure can make people stop and just want to end things quickly because they don’t want to face it.  

It’s always a risky proposition to walk into a deposition, and that pressure can cause anybody to crumble – even a billionaire like Elon Musk. Therefore, preparation is key, no matter who you are. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• How Elon’s letter disarmed Twitter
• Why Elon decided to stop the deposition
• The pressure that could come in a deposition
• Why rules and their enforcement are helpful for everybody
• Why preparing for deposition is very important

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

Here is a link to a short but brilliant analysis of Elon Musk deposition pressures: https://overcast.fm/+XutRyCFsg/01:2

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their businesses and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Jury selection: either trial lawyers hate it – or love it. Although many trial lawyers are afraid of it, jury selection never gets old. You will be getting different stories, different personalities, and different answers each time. But it takes a lot of practice to get better at it. The skills required for it are learned, practiced, and honed for hours and hours.

Today’s guest, Laurie Koller, a practicing lawyer for 31 years now, shares her experiences doing jury selection and the things she loves about it the most. 

Laurie talks about the importance of running focus groups in jury selection as well as the benefits of hiring a voice coach. She also talks about the book that she co-wrote with Rena Cook, called Her Voice in Law, which teaches vocal technique, especially for women in the courtroom.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What it was like going through the pandemic in Oklahoma
• Her experience working with David Ball
• The benefits of getting a voice coach
• The importance of having awareness of time
• Tips for running focus groups in jury selection
• What you can do to get better at jury selection

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

Laurie Koller

Laurie@kollertriallaw.com 

Her Voice in Law by Laurie Koller and Rena Cook

Rena Cook https://myvocalauthority.com/about/ 

Lexlee Overton https://mindoverlaw.com/about/ 

Theater for Trial by David Ball and Joshua Karton

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Focus groups before mediation? As trial lawyers, we all want clarity and certainty in any given case and focus groups can help provide those even as you’re preparing for mediation. 

Whether you settle, which is great, or you don’t, you’re still going to have this great information from running a focus group. It’s going to help boost the case value as well as your confidence in your case and how you’ve put it all together.

If you really want to wait until after mediation to run focus groups, that’s fine. But just know that if you’re preparing for trial, you can’t just run with whatever theory you have. You have to test out different theories in order to make a strong case. With a focus group prior to mediation, you have the advantage of testing out theories, giving you a leg up.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The benefits of doing a focus group before mediation
• Examples of scenarios people run focus groups before mediation
• The need for a neutral moderator
• The exchange value of running a focus group 

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

Question? Comments? Please email: Elizabeth@larricklawfirm.com 

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

One of the ways trial lawyers can prepare people for trial is the jury instructions where you basically look at how your client can help the jury answer the questions. Now, it doesn’t matter what level of intelligence or understanding a client is. That’s just the way a trial goes. 

The questions that the jury is going to have to answer should always be the target. This way, you can help the client focus and narrow down on the information that they can help the jury with.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Looking at how the client can help the jury answer the questions
• Identifying which questions should be answered
• Recognizing what they can bring to the jury that’s unique
• Sitting down for trial prep in-person

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

If you have questions or a particularly challenging client preparation, email Elizabeth directly for assistance: elizabeth@larricklawfirm.com.

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know I sent you.

Times have changed. And after the pandemic, things have shifted yet again. The question is, are you changing with the times? Are you preparing your clients in the best way to make it easy and simple for everyone involved?

There is currently a huge push into mediation, not trial. In fact, the whole thing about “saving on costs” has gone out the window. But what didn’t really shift is the trial lawyer’s mindset on the client’s day in court. Along with that shift was the “OG” style of preparing a client or a witness for a deposition. Depositions are where major decisions are being made so you have to work smarter around that. 

Today, we are going to delve more into this huge shift in personal injury practice, particularly, from a trial-focused practice to a mediation-focused practice. You will also learn about the history of mediation, and how it crept into what we do as trial lawyers in the personal injury realm. 

Whether you’re preparing for mediation or trial, it’s time to step up and make sure you’ve got all your bases covered.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The history of mediation practice
• The shift to mediation is one of the biggest hammers for trial lawyers.
• The OG style of deposition prep
• How to get through without damaging your case
• Giving a list of don’ts
• Depositions are the battleground.
• The importance of breaking up your prep and giving enough time to your clients

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

If you are curious you can learn more about court statistics at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/topics/courts 

If you have a question or a suggestion for an episode, please email me: elizabeth@larricklawfirm.com 

Episode 44: Using Deposition Objections as a Band-Aid 

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

Not sure about the case value of a case? Finding case values can be really difficult. Sometimes, cases are difficult to assess. Maybe you’re just not sure how to evaluate this case.

There are three sources lawyers generally tap into when it comes to evaluating cases. First, they could use their own experiences, which can be great, but at times, it can be limited. Maybe because they haven’t practiced very long, or maybe because the facts are unique or the case itself is unique.

Second, lawyers can tap into other people’s experiences either by asking other lawyers who have handled a similar case. They may also use a Listserv where they can ask other lawyers in the same profession or organizations. Third, lawyers could look into jury verdicts in their location or jurisdiction. 

In this episode, I’m going to share another way of finding case values, which is by running focus groups, and learn how you can use focus groups to get the most reliable data possible.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Understanding there are different categories of ways to run focus groups
• Using focus groups to find case value vs. quantitative studies
• Some cautions to think about when running the focus group
• Striving to learn more but also questioning the reliability of the data
• Different factors that determine the success of a focus group
• The challenge to stay neutral as a presenter to gather reliable data

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

If you have a question or a suggestion for an episode, please email me: elizabeth@larricklawfirm.com.

Are you using objections as a band-aid for a lack of preparation? 

You may be sitting in a deposition where you’re taking the deposition of the defendant. Then as you’re asking tough questions or questions that get to the heart of the case, the defense lawyer would suddenly pop up and say, “Objection Form.” Defense lawyers use this as a tactic to send a message to the witness. The defendant would then respond by saying they don’t recall. 

This is a cycle that we see pretty often in depositions and it can get frustrating as a lawyer. But what happens when you’re using the objection form as a band-aid for preparation? 

In today’s episode, we are going to look at this very mechanical piece of depositions: objections. Specifically, we’re going to be looking at the objection form used during a client deposition. In Texas practice, for example, this is the only permissible objection under our civil procedural rules, and this is the same way in most jurisdictions. 

And so, you want to make sure that the client gets the questions that they can answer, or at least neutralize them. But you don’t have to jump in and hit the Objection Form button. That’s why it’s very important to have a checklist of things so you come to depositions confident and prepared.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What happens if you don’t have enough depositions
• When you’re raising the red flag, everybody sees it
• The importance of creating a checklist for deposition
• How to create a checklist to prepare for deposition

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

If you have questions or a suggestion for an episode, email Elizabeth directly for assistance: elizabeth@larricklawfirm.com.

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

People say that a picture says a thousand words, and this holds true when you have illustrations during the trial. That’s the power of visuals – they tell a story, simplify complex concepts, and educate the audience in the easiest and best way possible.

In today’s episode, Annie Gough, an independent Certified Medical Illustrator, talks about how medical illustrators work and what it means to you in your practice. With over 20 years of experience in traumatic injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and product defect cases, Annie provides anatomical and surgical illustrations along with visual exhibit consultation on demand letters, expert depositions, mediation, and courtroom presentations. 

As trial lawyers, we want to be able to let the jury go into the story of the client. They may not have personally experienced going to the emergency room or having neck surgery. But being able to educate them with visual aids will help bring them into the experience your clients have had. Even just a single illustration can set the stage and turn it into a story or a movie so the jury can truly visualize it.​​

In this episode, you will hear:

• Annie’s path to medical illustration
• The most difficult things to educate people on
• The best way to show an injury
• The importance of animation in medical malpractice cases
• What it’s like to work with a lawyer
• How lawyers can benefit from reading her book

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

You can buy Annie’s book here.

Visit her website: www.agillustrations.com 

Want to work with Annie? Send her an email at: anniegcmi@gmail.com

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their businesses and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

If you haven’t ever tried running an adversarial focus group, or any focus group for that matter, then you better start considering doing it to get the most out of deposition or trial.

We’ve pretty much covered a lot of topics on focus groups in our previous episodes. Today, we specifically delve into Adversarial Focus Groups. They are similar to mock trials. The difference is that an adversarial focus group requires continual constant voting. That way, you have the ability to watch the needle move in between different pieces of evidence and in different witnesses.  

An adversarial focus group is probably the most in-depth thing that you could possibly do to get feedback. You’re giving the participants the best of everything – from the plaintiff and defense, to everything you need to fine tune your case.

Joining us today is Courtney Wilson who runs a practice on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, doing plaintiff’s personal injury lawsuits exclusively. In the last couple of years, their practice has narrowed down to doing mostly medical malpractice and products liability. Courtney works extremely hard with motions and briefing. She first came across focus groups back in 2016, and seeing the benefits of running them, she has been doing it since. 

In this episode, you will hear:

• Adversarial focus groups vs. mock trials
• What you get out of an adversarial focus group
• How to mesh all the information together
• An example of running a focus group and taking the case through trial

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We’d love for you to subscribe if you haven’t yet. 

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:

Courtney Wilson

Courtney@tyneslawfirm.com 

Tynes Law Firm

Pascagoula, Mississippi

Episode Credits:

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com