The Litigation Psychology Podcast

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 149 - The Problem with Pivoting During Deposition Testimony

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talk about witness testimony and the problems and dangers of pivoting during deposition questioning. They discuss how defense attorneys don’t realize how they are opening the door to counterattacks from opposing counsel when they encourage their witnesses to pivot and answer questions with phrases like "Yes, but..." Steve and Bill describe the psychology behind why providing detailed explanations in normal, everyday situations is very different than in the adversarial environment of a deposition. Another danger for witnesses they talk about is repetitive questions and how witnesses must be trained to hold their ground with plaintiff questions that are repeated over and over again. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/aJl

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 148 - New Year’s Resolutions for Managing Litigation

Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. is joined by trial attorneys Shane O'Dell of Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee and John Nunnally of Ragsdale Liggett to talk about new year's resolutions and what they are changing or doing differently in how they manage their litigation. Shane and John share how they are encouraging their clients to be more proactive in their litigation and not wait for plaintiff's counsel to make the first move every time. They talk about pursuing early mediations for cases that lend themselves to earlier settlement discussions and continuing to educate their clients on the value and benefits of being proactive. Shane also discusses his goal to drive more communication and sharing within the defense bar. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/iWy

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 147 - Podcast Year in Review

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. close out 2022 with a podcast Year in Review. They talk about what they've learned this year including starting to see some clients operating more proactively and early in litigation and the benefits they are realizing by doing so. Steve and Bill discuss other topics covered during the year, and in particular, the importance of episodes dedicated to mental and physical health. They also preview a few topic ideas for podcasts in 2023 and share some additional holiday thoughts and observations.

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 146 - Safety Language in Corporate Policies and on Websites

Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talks about the risky language in company policies and procedures and the language and information on company websites. Many companies create a level of expectation for safety that is unattainable and put these organizations at risk of being attacked by plaintiff attorneys during litigation. Using language about safety being the top priority in manuals, training materials, policies, procedures, and on websites only creates litigation exposure that can be potentially devastating to the company and often serves no tangible benefit to the company when published. Plaintiff attorneys will use this language to demonstrate that the company didn't meet its own safety standards when focusing on specific incidents and litigation.
Bill also talks about how one of the main goals of Reptile is to beat you and outmaneuver you in discovery. Plaintiff attorneys are focused on destroying witnesses at deposition in order to increase their demand. Their preference is to remove your negotiating power and leverage and get you to settle for a huge amount earlier so they can get their money faster. Reptile is a neurocognitive attack on your brain which requires sophisticated training to protect witnesses from being tricked and trapped by Reptile plaintiff attorneys. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/RVp

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 145 - Wellness and Managing Stress - Part 2

Wellness Specialist Jen Donovan joins Dr. Steve Wood for the second part of this episode focused on wellness and managing stress. In this episode, Jen demonstrates different simple exercises and movements as ways to relieve stress, including multiple breathing tips. Jen also talks about sound healing and sound therapy exercises. Lastly, Jen shares tips for how to get started, managing the timing of when to start, and how to make better, healthier choices. Jen's concluding thoughts: what you eat, drink, breathe, and think becomes your guide to physical and mental fitness. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/uRF

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 144 - Wellness and Managing Stress - Part 1

Wellness Specialist Jen Donovan joins Dr. Steve Wood for a two-part episode about wellness topics, including the benefits of Rawfood Nutrition, and demonstrates some exercises to help manage the stresses of work and the holidays. Jen shares tips on eating properly, sleeping properly, breathing properly, and moving our body properly and the importance of devoting at least 3 weeks to any change to make it stick. Jen talks about the difference between mindlessness and mindfulness, about setting the environment of your space, the importance of good posture and of setting an intention for the day at the start of every morning. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/s6a

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 143 - Thanksgiving

Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. shares what and whom he is grateful and thankful for. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/oAJ

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 142 - Frequently Asked Questions - Part 5

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. continue answering podcast listener and viewer questions:
- How do you advise handling voir dire in federal court when you only have 30-60 minutes to ask questions of jurors?
- What are the opportunities with using a supplemental juror questionnaire?
- What is the best way to question my client during direct or rehabilitation examination?
- Are engineers bad jurors for the defense?
- What types of demonstrative exhibits work best for jurors? Should I always go high tech?
- If my witness has an emotional meltdown during their deposition, how do I get them back on track?
- How should I test evidence in a mock trial format if I don't know if the judge will let it in?
- How do I deal with a defendant who is experiencing extreme guilt and wants to admit guilt even though they didn't do anything wrong and it was just a bad accident?
- From a jury consulting standpoint, does a juror's health status matter?
To watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/2RM

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 141 - Frequently Asked Questions - Part 4

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. continue their series of answering podcast listener and viewer questions:
- How is the movement of people from blue states to red states impacting the jury pool? - Can a Middle Eastern defendant win at trial with a predominantly white/rural jury?- How do I mitigate damages at trial on a case when my client is admitting liability?- Should I ask the judge to show a short clip of the plaintiff's day-in-the-life video during jury selection?- In voir dire, what do I do with jurors who are quiet and won't say much?- During jury selection, how useful is juror social media information?
Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/ibp

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 140 - Developing and Retaining Young Associates

Shane O'Dell, Member at Naman, Howell, Smith, and Lee PLLC, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about helping younger associates grow through mentoring and development opportunities and how to keep those younger attorneys in your practice. Shane talks about the challenges for early career attorneys and what they can do to overcome. Shane shares his experience with recognizing the importance of developing relationships and trust over time as a path toward building a reputation and earning future opportunities. Shane and Bill discuss ideas on how to build a book of business and ways that the defense bar needs to evolve in the future. They also talk about how defense firms can keep young attorneys from job hopping and chasing new opportunities and the importance of helping clients understand why they need to be open to having younger associates work on their cases in order to help them develop. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/5um