Since 2005, trial consultants David Bossart, Gregory Cusimano, Edward Lazarus, and David Wenner have been involved in some of the largest plaintiff’s verdicts in the country, totaling more than $4 billion. In Winning Case Preparation: Understanding Jury Bias, the top experts in jury bias offer a proven method of case preparation—whether you’re seeking to settle a minor impact case or gearing up for a massive medical malpractice trial—that is based on years of evidence-based research and experience.
The authors demonstrate how to analyze your case to determine its strengths and weaknesses, avoid being blindsided by issues you were unaware of, and offer a proven way of increasing the likelihood of your success. Their framework for how to prepare a case can help you better understand how jurors will respond to your facts and will teach you how to structure your trial story in a way that best communicates the information that is most important to those who decide it. For anyone who wants to understand how juries decide cases, this book is a must-read.
- Introduction
- The Jury Bias Model Part One: The Five Juror Biases
- The Jury Bias Model Part Two: The Ten Commandments
- Bottom Up™ versus Top-Down Case Preparation
- Investigating the Facts
- Conducting Jury Research
- Building the Case Core
- Developing the Trial Story
- Testing Your Case
- Understanding and Applying Beliefs
- Genuinely Listen and Speak Genuinely
- Conclusion
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What Legal Leaders Are Saying
— Mark Mandell, member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, author of Case Framing, and past president of the AAJFrom four of the country’s leading thinkers on trial advocacy comes a book that describes a powerful model for preparing a case for trial. The analysis on focus groups is brilliant. I especially like the observation that we should keep asking questions of the focus group members until we understand not just what they think, but also why. This is one of the books that should be read by every lawyer before beginning to prepare a case for trial.
— Dan Dell’Osso, obtained one of the top 100 verdicts in the US in 2015, rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-HubbellIt’s the Rosetta Stone for translating the facts of your case into a compelling and winning trial story.
— William Harper, past president of the Minnesota Association of Justice and recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award, rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-HubbellFinally, a book that distinguishes legal proof from jury proof. This book emphasizes the outcome determinative difference between the two. If I only had three or four books on my shelf, this book would definitely be one of them. Winning Case Preparation is based on science, yet it focuses on the perspectives and frames of the human condition.
— Kathleen Flynn Peterson, past president of the AAJ, member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, recipient of ATLA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, named one of the top 500 Leading Lawyers in America by LawdragonThis book offers the reader, whether a lawyer preparing their first case for trial or a seasoned trial lawyer, a methodology grounded in the principles of cognitive science and years of focus-group research. The authors provide readers with the tools to apply an empirical process for constructing a winning trial narrative. I have found the Bottom Up methodology to be the most useful tool I have utilized for preparing a winning case for my clients.
— Russ Herman, past president of the Roscoe Pound FoundationWhen a courtroom lawyer stops learning, it’s time to quit. This work will stand through time in the pantheon of greatest works on human behavior, strategies, and preparation for the trial of individual cases. It is a righteous work which will keep us all learning.
— Andrew Abraham, past president of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys, listed as a “Rising Star” in Boston Magazine and Super Lawyers in 2005I have used Winning Works since 2007. I have seen the principles and science behind Bottom Up case preparation significantly increase the value of my cases. I have completely changed the way I evaluate, litigate, and try cases as their insights have opened my eyes to the real reasons jurors decide the way they do.
— John Romano, past president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, and the National Trial Lawyers Association, editor of Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th editionSimply put—Winning Case Preparation is a grand slam. This book will take every advocate, from young lawyer to the seasoned veteran, on a journey to maximizing results for their clients. It is about grasping fundamentals, constructing foundations, and mastering strategy and persuasion. Focusing on the realities and necessities of preparation is what every advocate needs. On a 1 to 10 scale, this book is an 11!
— Tad Thomas, former acting executive director in the Office of Civil and Environmental Law and assistant deputy attorney general for the Office of the Kentucky Attorney GeneralThe Overcoming Juror Bias seminars revolutionized the way trial lawyers understand juries and shed light on why good lawyers lose good cases. Winning Case Preparation: Understanding Jury Bias goes even further and provides trial lawyers with the tools necessary to identify, understand, and address jurors’ preconceived notions of the evidence to achieve justice for our clients. A huge ‘thank you’ needs to go out to Bossart, Cusimano, Lazarus, and Wenner for sharing their decades worth of knowledge with all of us who exercise the 7th Amendment.
— Jerome F. O’Neill, recipient of AAJ’s Wiedemann and Wysocki Award, rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-HubbellThe research and analysis the authors present as to the biases that jurors bring with them delivers insights that will fundamentally change how plaintiffs’ lawyers prepare and try their cases. To provide the best client representation possible, plaintiffs’ lawyers must understand and apply the authors’ insights, concepts, and recommendations. This book describes what we need to know about jurors’ thinking in a clear and engaging format. Every plaintiffs’ lawyer should have this book—and have a highlighter handy when reading it.
— Andrew Meyer, achieved one of the highest PI injury awards in Massachusetts history, rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-HubbellWritten by the top trial strategists and jury consultants of our time, this instructional book is a must-read. Winning Case Preparation: Understanding Jury Bias offers a strategic framework and invaluable insight for understanding juror preconceptions and overcoming the hurdles of juror bias to succeed at trial. It’s a thoughtful, intuitive, easy-to-read guide that’s absolutely necessary for any practitioner who intends to be persuasive in the courtroom.
— Mel C. Orchard, past president of the Wyoming TLA, rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-HubbellFrom the original visionaries in understanding juror bias comes another great work where method, mapping, and testing in the Bottom Up strategy become synonymous with understanding why and how jurors decide cases. This book is an absolute must-read that’s full of practical preparation pointers. It’s perfect!