Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• A brief review of Chapter 11.
• I. Introduction
• II. Finding Out What Happened
• III. Final Preparation
• IV. Trying the Case

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Other Stuff You Need To Know
• Practice
• Words out loud with an audience
• Exhibits so you do not fumble around
• Short hand evidentiary arguments (have a list of
  expected issues, with rule cites).
• Mental or physical list of regular objections

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Hypervigilant over-preparer
• Strengths
• Discovery process
• Development of methods and procedures
• Can drill down through an issue with multiple
  pieces of evidence
• Weaknesses
• Bogs down in details scared to miss something
• Forgets obvious, makes difficult but right
  arguments
• Knows too much to say this is the way that it
  is.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Litigation Logjam
• Stand up and shoot from the hip
• Strengths
• Can rapidly assimilate large bodies of evidence
  and discard what is not useful to the case.
• Hammers on strengths
• Sees game to win, not quest for perfect truth.
• Weaknesses
• Uninterested in long process of gathering
  evidence.
• Can be caught unprepared or in obvious
  inconsistencies.
• Less strong on appeal or researched briefing.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Litigation Logjam

Stand up and shoot from the hipper
Hypervigilant over-preparer
IM TRAPPED HOW DO I GET OUT?
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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Litigation Logjam
• Unified Solution Big Board Exhibits (Use
  Powerpoint, then blow up).

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Exhibit C, Richard Walker Survey
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Whats the point?

• The pier crosses the line.

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Courtesy of our friends at www.cargolaw.com
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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Chapter 11.
• I. Introduction
• II. Finding Out What Happened
• III. Final Preparation
• IV. Trying the Case

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Whats the point?

• Someone violated the duty to maintain an adequate
  lookout.

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•  

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Whats the point?

• To understand an email discussing an attachment,
  you need to create an exhibit that shows both.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Chapter 11.
• II. Finding Out What Happened
• Investigation (field walks, day-in-the life
  videos).
• Go outside, its fun!
• If you need someone to be able to testify about
  observations, send an appropriate investigator
  with a camera.
• Keep an eye on the prize big board exhibits for
  the case.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Chapter 11.
• IV. Trying the Case
• Go Big Board, Big Picture, Simple Theme you
  know 100,000 times more than the jury or the
  judge, and they dont have 2 years to learn.
• People tend to ignore evidence that does not fit
  in their expectations hit the high points.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Chapter 11.
• IV. Trying the Case
• Opening Statement
• This is what happened a story (especially
  Plaintiff)
• Here are the holes in the story, here is what is
  missing. (especially Defendant).
• SEIZE THE LANGUAGE (NAME TOUGH CONCEPTS)
• Use uncontested Big Boards.
• Write this in time to give it to 10 friends
  before its final.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• What You Need To Know
• IV. Trying the Case
• Direct Examinations
• Try to get in all evidence that helps you do not
  be afraid to have a judge rule against you.
• The more you try to get in, the more that you
  will get in, and the less any denial will hurt.
• For important and contested evidence, try to come
  up with multiple ways to get it in. Try, try
  again.

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Prep and Trial of Tort Claims

• Closing Arguments
• Judges are persuaded by the same things that
  jurors are visual aids, discussion of the
  credibility of the evidence, an understanding
  based on common sense, and an appeal to a
  rational understanding of what really happened.
• ABA Journal, June, 2002.