I started watching the Oprah Winfrey Show when Cristina was born in 1986. Finished two children and ten years later. While other attorneys were taking classes on trial practice, this mommy lawyer learned the art of direct exam from watching the best interviewer in the world.
Earlier this month, Oprah interviewed Meghan and Harry. She did not disappoint. The session provides a wonderful lesson on Direct Exam.
Read MoreWake up too early. Go back to pretend sleep. Lie there. Perform countdown of how long it will all take. Remember Alysha has gone to the cabin with Nala and the house is totally quiet. No Nala to feed or take potty. Or to laugh with. Reduce countdown. Thirty minutes later have donned black cream and red plaid slim slacks, red shirt with ruffles, favorite Boss black jacket and pointy toe heeled boots with tassles that swing back and forth.
One of the challenges in representing 40 people in a mass disaster trial is to put on their medical damages cases without taking weeks and weeks.We have been streamlining the case not only since before trial began, but also during trial.
Read MoreJust spent a weekend in Lululemon and now it is time to get court ready again. There have been times over the years where have resented having to figure out what to wear. Including whether to repeat or not in a long trial. But dressing up for court is really like putting on a costume for the big show. There is a stage and audience and what we wear is a part of the whole process. So for the most part, don’t whine. Messages are being sent by what we wear in court.
Read MoreThe defense is bringing in a memory expert from back east. To say the surviving brother's memory is not real.
This is an asbestos-mesothelioma trial. The exposure happened in the 1970s. The only witnesses who can identify the product are the brother (who was then eight) and the deceased.
Read MoreChildren may be scared to testify in a trial. But being on a witness stand can also be empowering for them. They are having their day in court. They are participating in an integral part of our country's foundational structure. They are helping the process of determining the truth.
Read MoreAm resting on a sandy beach somewhere nice and warm. Every so often someone gives me a tasty little treat and a sip of ice water. The breeze gently rustles my fur. Seagulls caw in the background.
Ellie – time to wake up, she says.
Read MoreThis is a trial diary excerpt from 2011:
Four more witnesses testify – but only want to talk about one of them. The 38 year old daughter.
How do you turn a witness into someone a jury will connect with. Well, for starters you stop believing you have magical persuasive powers. Presenting a family member means getting out of the way so they can show their love. It means creating a safe place. It means embracing the human condition. Not in a data collecting, data spouting lawyerly way.
Read MoreDrive up to the gate. Pay $15 for a parking pass. Drive 100 feet forward and turn left. Find a space and park. Am barefoot. Slip on shoes. Exit car. Walk around the side of the building. Open the doors. Am now inside the UW school of law. Head down the hallway to room 138. Open the door. It's a big theater styled space. Walk down the stairs to the front. Give Bill Bailey a hug. He’s a full time professor there for now. This is the big lecture class for the trial advocacy program.
Read MoreWe can't help it - us lawyers. We have to go to school for so long - it's no wonder we stop talking and thinking like real people. We say "prior" for before and "subsequent" for after. We love words with lots of syllables. Because this is what law school drilled into us.
In trial, we distance ourselves when we fail to communicate on a real person level. That's the beauty of having witnesses who are not experts. The jury can understand them.
Read MoreOutlines serve a purpose. They just shouldn't be relied upon to the exclusion of the rest of what is going on in a courtroom.
This general outline has been in my repertoire for 20 years. My former boss, Tom Chambers, developed it. I have barely changed it. I use it as a reminder. As a guide. Not as a script.
Read MoreFamily member testimony helps a jury understand the human impact of injury. The attorney will often become sidetracked by focusing on getting answers to specific questions that dot "i"s and cross "t"s. Stilted, formal, data-based questioning is a good way to shut down these valuable witnesses. Words after all, are less important than everything else that goes on when we form impressions.
Read MoreI'm on the treadmill watching Oprah. She is interviewing Dr. Oz. Their theme "5 lifesaving numbers." He gives vivid easy to understand verbal answers. He uses a video recreation. He has a demonstrative aid. I like it when he punches the plaque out of the artery. It is really super. Oprah is a phenomenal interviewer. She channels the audience. She “is” the audience in the moment. Her goal is to educate and impress upon the audience, the importance of understanding and following Dr. Oz’s medical advice.
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