The Litigation Psychology Podcast

#312 - Med Mal Perspectives from an Attorney, Physician, Mediator, and Arbitrator - Part 2

Paul Molinaro, M.D., J.D. joins Steve Wood, Ph.D. for part 2 of their conversation about medical malpractice litigation from Paul's unique perspective as a Physician, Attorney, Mediator, and Arbitrator. Paul talks about his role as a mediator, shares his philosophy on managing mediations, and how he approaches different mediation scenarios. Paul gives examples of two types of mediations: facilitative and evaluative. Steve and Paul also talk about anchoring in mediation and the power of the "middle number." Lastly, Paul shares his recommendations and suggestions to attorneys to best prepare for mediation.

#311 - Med Mal Perspectives from an Attorney, Physician, Mediator, and Arbitrator - Part 1

Paul Molinaro, M.D., J.D., who is a Physician, Attorney, Mediator, Arbitrator and founder of MD JD Dispute Resolution, joins Steve Wood, Ph.D. to share his background on his many roles and experience with medical malpractice cases. Paul and Steve discuss the standard of care, how Paul evaluates the cases that he is approached to work on, how patients and jurors judge physicians, how they perceive the standard of care and the expertise of physicians, and the role of expert witnesses in med mal cases. They also talk about the business of medicine and how that can impact patient care. Steve and Paul dive into the reactions and concerns they deal with when physicians get sued and what has changed in medical malpractice litigation over the past 20 years, particularly with the advent of AI.

#310 - Protecting the Cognitive Gap During Testimony

Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. defines and describes the cognitive gap and why witnesses must protect this gap during testimony. Bill shares the brain science behind cognitive fatigue when maximizing cognition in a deposition and how a witness must be trained - not just told - how to practice and protect the cognitive gap. The training process requires teaching and practice in order to master the skills required to be successful during testimony, especially since opposing counsel's goal will be to get the witness to go faster and reduce the cognitive gap. The challenge for the witness is that the cognitive gap is uncomfortable so the witness must be neurocognitively trained to embrace the discomfort as that is the key to achieving a positive outcome in the deposition.

#309 - Step-by-Step Guide to Psychologically Training Witnesses for Deposition

CSI Litigation Consultant Sarah Burton, Ph.D. joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about training witnesses to prepare them for testimony. Sarah shares how she approaches getting to know witnesses before the training formally begins to help put them at ease and to evaluate their mental and emotional state.
Bill and Sarah discuss how challenging it is for witness's brains to be concise when they are so used to explaining and giving details in day-to-day life, and how they help witnesses understand the importance of brevity. They also describe how they go about giving feedback to a witness during the training, how they handle Reptile/Edge Theory questions, and the differences between training a fact witness vs. a corporate representative.
Bill and Sarah talk about how they train witnesses to accept bad facts and why witnesses have to avoid pivoting. Lastly, they explain the importance of simulating the actual deposition experience to ensure that the witness is fully prepared for manipulative tactics or other psychological tricks that the questioner may use.

#308 - A Guide to Attorney Mentoring

Alexander Green, Partner with Lewis Brisbois, joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss young attorney development and mentoring. Alexander shares his thoughts on what attorney mentorship looks like and how leaders can facilitate development opportunities for early career attorneys within their firms. Alexander also talks about how his career has benefited from having mentors, how he balances being mentored and mentoring others, and what mentees should consider when deciding who to approach for mentorship.

#307 - The Benefits of Repeat Testing in Jury Research

CSI Litigation Consultant Linda Khzam joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to share the breakdown of a recent case and the jury research process that was used. Bill and Linda take a deep dive into the who, what, when, where, and why of Case Assessment Panels, which are virtual focus groups, and are the primary methodology for conducting exploratory jury research. Case Assessment Panels can be conducted at any stage of the litigation and can be used to explore juror insights on parties, evidence, liability, apportionment of fault, witnesses, and damages. They also discuss the importance of validity and reliability in jury research and how much they matter in the confidence and certainty around the results. Linda also describes the process that was used when mediation was not successful in this case and the jury research that was conducted in preparation for trial, including testing of opening statement and visuals to avoid missteps prior to trial.

#306 - The Danger of Witnesses Using AI During Testimony Prep

Attorney Billy Davis of Taylor Nelson Slattery Bernard PL joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss their Law360 article on the topic of witnesses using AI for their deposition or trial testimony prep. Billy and Bill talk about how they anticipate the questions from opposing counsel at deposition about AI usage by witnesses is going to play out. Billy shares what he thinks may happen if witnesses admit to using AI in preparation for their deposition. They also discuss the exposure and issues of using AI in preparation for trial testimony and the credibility issues when this inevitably comes up during trial. Lastly, Bill and Billy highlight what attorneys need to discuss with witnesses on the topic of AI usage during litigation.

#305 – Tips For Success From a Seasoned Trial Attorney

Carlos Rincon, Founding Shareholder at Rincon Law Group, P.C. joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about tips and lessons learned from Carlos’s decades long career as a trial attorney. Carlos shares tips for lawyers on the topics of voir dire questions, jury research, developing a narrative, opening statements, direct and cross-examination of witnesses, demonstratives, nerves while preparing for trial, not being afraid of taking cases to trial, the value of jury research as preparation for trial, proximate cause, and anchoring.

#304 - Managing Negative Thought Patterns of Witnesses

Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. discusses negative thought patterns of witnesses and how critical it is to identify and address these negative thoughts during prep. Bill shares a story about a recent witness he worked with and the process he took with this witness who was struggling with ruminating and negative thoughts. He advises attorneys to make the time to confront these emotional, negative thought patterns, to be prepared for them to resurface during prep, and to address them throughout the process until they are fully resolved because they can completely derail the witness's performance.

#303 - Straight Talk About the Insurance Industry

Chantal Roberts, Principal & CEO of CMR Consulting, joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk all about insurance. Bill and Chantal discuss the all-out blitz against the insurance industry by the plaintiff's bar and the issues with policyholder's confusion and misunderstanding about insurance. They discuss the relationship between defense attorneys and adjusters and suggest how they can work better together. Bill and Chantal talk about the evolution of Reptile and the expansion of Reptile questions beyond safety and risk to other areas such as claims handling in bad faith cases and fairness in employment cases. Lastly, they discuss where things are headed in the insurance industry and the impact and future of AI in insurance.