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Admittedly we have more plaintiff trial attorney clients than defense. This may be a subconscious drive on my part, as I was brought up in a strictly plaintiff household. I also seem to root for the underdog in sporting events when my home team (GO SPURS GO) aren’t playing.

I’m not sure what 10 previous links I clicked on to get to Seattle plaintiff attorney Paul Luvera’s blog entitled Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips. In his posts you can see his experience and training shine through (not to mention a lot of Gary Spence’s excellent trial techniques.)

I highly suggest reading How to Make An Opening Statement That Has Impact:

The first question is how we should present an opening statement? The answer is that it should be a story and not a chronological outline of facts. In effect, you need to make the jurors “eyewitnesses” to what happened. Presented as if it were happening now and the jurors are present.

Couldn’t agree more. Time and time again I try and show the light to attorneys that feel that listing every fact, detail, and wrong-doing in bullet point after bullet point, is a really bad idea. The tick is create an effective storyline that engages the jury, while still getting your points out into the open.

Tags: jury, litigation, trial