The Litigation Psychology Podcast

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 104 - Mindfulness and Stress Relief for Witnesses

Wellness Specialist Jennifer Donovan of Wellness 4 Judiciary joins the podcast to talk to Dr. Steve Wood about mental wellbeing, mindfulness, and what witnesses can do to reduce stress levels, particularly when testifying. Jennifer demonstrates several helpful exercises to help relieve stress and create calmness, clarity, and focus. The exercises, which can be done either seated or standing, include attention to posture, breathing, shoulders, head & neck, and the jaw, plus intentional thoughts and visualizing positive outcomes for better self care. Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/b6u

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 103 - Frequently Asked Questions, Part 2

Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. answers more frequently asked questions from viewers and listeners of the podcast. Questions asked and answered in this episode:
- How to handle a defensive witness who is also young and inexperienced?
- What type of assessment(s) should be done of witnesses before they are prepped for deposition?
- What is a shadow jury?
- How is commercial litigation different than personal injury or catastrophic injury or death cases?
- Is it okay to Reptile my co-defendant who is adverse to my client?
Watch the video version of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/Ztm

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 102 - Witness Training for CEOs and Executives

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talk about witness training for CEOs and some of the challenges with training C-level executives for deposition and trial testimony. Steve and Bill discuss how they work with these types of witnesses and some of the steps that these executives must be open to in order to maximize the benefits of the training and perform well during testimony. They describe the social psychology concept of state dependent learning plus how an executive's potential negative attitudes about attorneys can impact their approach to their witness preparation. Steve and Bill talk about the impact an executive's anger related to the litigation can have on their preparation and also why CEOs have to be okay with saying they don't know something, even if that is uncomfortable for them. Lastly, they cover the importance of how one dresses during testimony, the criticality of taking cognitive breaks while testifying and not just using breaks to catch up on work, and how their behavior at the defense table can impact juror perceptions during jury selection and the trial itself. Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/akV

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 101 - A Look Ahead at Podcast Topics in 2022

Dr. Steve Wood delivers a preview of topics that will be addressed on The Litigation Psychology Podcast during 2022. A few of the hot topics that Steve and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. will be discussing during the year:
- the importance and necessity of communication and sharing of information amongst the defense bar; 
- celebrating defense bar victories, including insights on what's working for the defense, and what's leading to those wins and successful outcomes;  
- witness behavior, including recent observations and commentary on defendants taking the stand in their own defense and what's been successful and unsuccessful in those situations;
- mental health topics, covering witness, juror, and attorney mental health issues and their impact on litigation; 
- attorney leadership and the importance of providing opportunities and training for younger attorneys; 
- juror perceptions of different industries and individual roles of people who will be called to testify and how to improve and change any negative impressions;  
- plus much more.
Watch the video version of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/P6G

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 100 - Practical Advice for Civil Litigation Defense

The 100th episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast features trial attorneys Paul Motz from Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney and Brad Hughes from Clark Hill. Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. and Steve Wood, Ph.D. talk to Paul and Brad about the challenges of connecting with jurors during trials where masks are required and ideas on what to do. The group discuss their thoughts on counter-anchoring damages, why the insurance adjuster playbook doesn't work, and steps that need to be taken to diffuse a nuclear verdict before getting to trial. Paul and Brad offer their suggestions on how younger attorneys who lack experience can be provided opportunities to learn and talk about the difficult conversations that attorneys must have with their clients and their insurance companies about the investments that are necessary to avoid the ever-increasing nuclear verdicts and settlements. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/VWF

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 99 - Trial Preparation, Part 2

Steve Wood, Ph.D. and Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. discuss trial testimony, preparing witnesses for trial, and the steps necessary for the best results at trial. They talk about the process that should be followed and where witnesses and even attorneys fall short, leading to bad outcomes at trial.  Plaintiffs are continuing to increase demands and are wanting to go to trial as they see that as an advantage for them, especially against ill-prepared and under-prepared defense counsel. And the only way to be ready for trial is to invest in the weaponry (mock trials, jury research, witness training, jury selection, trial consulting, counter-anchoring) necessary to fight fire with fire and win. Bill shares the result from a recent case that just went to trial, where the demand was a nuclear demand and what led to a non-nuclear verdict that the legal team and client were thrilled with. Watch the video version of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/uZU

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 98 - Decision Making in Trial Practice

Chris Patton, Partner at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann and John Adams, Trial Lawyer at Gibson Dunn, join Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about commercial litigation and the article they co-authored titled Give the Jury What It Wants: Decision-Making in Trial Practice. Chris, John, and Bill discuss the importance of storytelling in trial and why and how to get the jury's attention early to frame the trial narrative. The group also talk about the availability bias and how jurors interpret and consider the information and litigants based on when and how much they are talked about by the attorneys. John and Chris share how they handle explaining complex concepts to jurors to help them understand so that they can properly evaluate the case facts and how they leverage sympathy and emotion in business litigation to help jurors relate. Lastly, the group talks about how to identify the right witnesses for the case, the way they handle bad facts at trial, and their perspective on bringing up tough questions during voir dire. Watch the video version of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/Rpe

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 97 - The Rise, Fall, and Reincarnation of the Reptile Program

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. share the latest updates on the Reptile training program. Recently, the program has gone through an evolution and some rebranding. There appears to be a phasing out of the "Reptile" term but the program is alive and well and there are now even more options for the plaintiff's bar to receive training on these variations of the Reptile Theory. Steve and Bill talk about the concept of cognitive schema and cognitive dissonance, which are keys to the success of Reptile attorneys, and why witnesses' brains need to be rewired and rebuilt to keep them from being taken advantage of by plaintiff attorneys. They also answer viewer mail including questions about doing a mock trial or focus group if you don't have videos of witnesses and the pros and cons of doing online surveys vs. a mock trial. Watch the video version of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/bXZ

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 96 - The Problems with Juror Instructions

Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talk about the problems with juror instructions. So many times, jurors don't understand them, don't pay attention to them, don't read them, are too long, etc. The biggest issues that jurors struggle with understanding are causation, burden of proof, negligence, past economic and non-economic damages, future economic and non-economic damages, and allocation of fault. 
To help jurors understand causation they must be educated and indoctrinated about causation beginning in jury selection, then repeating during opening and then again during closing so that by the time they get to deliberations, they have heard it a few times. For many jurors, burden of proof is confused with "beyond a reasonable doubt" due to their lack of understanding and what they have seen in TV shows and movies. Jurors don't understand the legal definition of negligence and is often just assumed to exist simply because there is a bad outcome. Jurors are very confused by past economic and non-economic damages and also by future earnings damages. Jurors do seem to get punitive damages and allocation of fault, for the most part, however, they tend to start their discussion around allocation of fault, which is not where they are instructed to start. The podcast wraps up with Bill and Steve answering viewer mail about witnesses responding with "it depends",  the pros and cons of blaming the plaintiff, and advantages of a mock trial with deliberations with fewer jurors vs. individual surveys of a much larger sample. Watch the video of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/50F

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 95 - Winning Before Trial

This week's guest is Charles Price who manages litigation for Eaton Corporation and is a professor at the University of Akron where he teaches a law school course called Winning Before Trial. Charlie and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talk about differences between law schools and the background behind the Winning Before Trial course, which focuses on understanding psychology, economics, statistics, accounting, neuroscience in the application of law. They also discuss the changes that have taken place over the years with trial attorneys and the challenge of getting trial experience these days, particularly for younger attorneys. Charlie shares his perspective on the differences between serving as in-house counsel vs. working for a law firm and comments on the high turnover with millennial attorneys. He describes the approach that Eaton takes to develop early career talent to address the turnover issue and how they get less experienced attorneys more exposure and opportunities to help them grow. Lastly, Charlie talks about his blog winningbeforetrial.com and Bill shares the importance of being proactive on prevention and pre-litigation planning and training. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/UiD