The Litigation Psychology Podcast
The Litigation Psychology Podcast presented by Courtroom Sciences, Inc. (CSI) is a podcast for in-house and outside defense counsel and insurance claims personnel about the intersection of science and litigation. We explore topics of interest to the defense bar, with a particular emphasis on subjects that don‘t get enough attention. Our hosts are experts in Clinical Psychology, Social Psychology, and scientifically-based jury research with a wealth of knowledge about science, research, human behavior, and decision making, which they apply in the context of civil litigation.
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Episodes
Monday Nov 09, 2020
Monday Nov 09, 2020
Jason Long, Attorney with London | Amburn Attorneys at Law joins the podcast to discuss several healthcare litigation topics. Jason and Dr. Bill Kanasky talk about what the impacts of Covid-19 have been - both good and bad - on witness training, depositions, and some lessons learned thus far. They also chat about the importance of talking to healthcare professionals on how to answer questions about documentation, and setting expectations around documentation, to prevent from being trapped by reptile questions. Jason and Bill also highlight the challenges of working with nurse witnesses who, due to the circumstances of specific cases and the sympathy involved, may require emotional psychology training before testifying. They discuss the challenges of foreign-born healthcare professionals as witnesses and how to manage them, plus how things will change in jury selection and voir dire in light of Covid-19. And they conclude with their thoughts on the lack of development of younger defense attorneys and the importance of preparing them for litigating cases, especially with the plaintiff's bar so heavily investing in the development of their younger plaintiff attorneys. To watch the video of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/Joo
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
In this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, Dr. Bill Kanasky is joined by Atlanta area trial attorney John E. Hall, Jr., Partner, Hall Booth Smith to discuss healthcare litigation. Bill and John talk about birth injury cases and the importance of understanding the basics of the medical aspects of the case, as well as the emotions of the family and the nurses and healthcare staff in these cases. They also discuss their perspective on giving healthcare workers the freedom to defend themselves based on the legal standard, not the medical standard, and what that means, especially in light of the emotional issues in these cases. In addition, they highlight the importance of a joint defense meeting in cases involving multiple defendants and in finding common ground; how the plaintiff's bar is driving nuclear (or aberration) verdicts; what the defense bar should be doing to train young lawyers; the power of anchoring damages and the strategy to attack damages; and the importance of early case assessment and providing a damages offer early, and more. To watch the video of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/RqS
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
In this podcast, CSI Litigation Consultant Dr. Bill Kanasky discusses the destructive role that emotion can play in witness deposition testimony. Emotion kills cognition and sends witnesses into a fight or fight response (the amygdala hijack). In this podcast, Dr. Kanasky shows examples of emotional witnesses and discusses how CSI's experts use neurocognitive training to prepare witnesses to stay calm during testimony, leading to better answers and better deposition testimony. To watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/DeC.
Monday Oct 19, 2020
Monday Oct 19, 2020
In this special edition of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, Trucking Litigation Attorney Doug Marcello interviews Dr. Bill Kanasky on the subject of nuclear verdicts. They discuss the definition of a nuclear verdict and what causes a nuclear verdict to occur, including the impact of Reptile and witness testimony on nuclear verdicts. Doug and Bill also take a deep dive into the importance of using the scientific method in trial research, why hunches or previous verdicts in the venue are fraught with limitations, and why claims adjusters should leverage scientifically gathered data before writing settlement checks. They also tackle the criticality of collecting jury data via a written survey vs oral voir dire, the implications of Covid-19 and social unrest on juror perceptions, and why corporations and insurance companies need to be more aggressive and take control early, especially in light of how aggressive the plaintiff's bar continues to be. To watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/2Dj
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
In this episode, CSI Litigation Consultant Dr. Bill Kanasky discusses the goals of deposition testimony, while addressing the issues with "pivoting" and why its such a poor strategy. Dr. Kanasky also shares examples of poor deposition testimony along with examples of great testimony to highlight the differences and how to achieve them. To watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/A3b
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Demographics (age, gender, political affiliation, occupation, etc.) are not predictive of juror behavior and decision-making. Instead, juror attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and personality traits are what most influence how jurors will evaluate a case. Understanding these deeper characteristics requires a different, more scientific approach to voir dire, particularly with jurors you will encounter post-Covid-19. This episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast describes why demographics aren't predictive, how jurors actually make decisions, and what changes you should implement in voir dire to select the best jurors for your case. To watch the video version of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/8cQ.
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
In recent years, American politics have been highly polarized. CSI's Litigation Consultants recently conducted research on the extent to which jurors’ political affiliation “matters,” and illustrates why jurors’ political orientation must be considered within the context of other social and psychological factors to maximize the effectiveness of jury selection strategy.
In this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, CSI Litigation Consultants Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Lorie Sicafuse discuss this research and what the results mean for attorneys and their perceptions about jury selection.
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
The Litigation Psychology Podcast welcomes Dale Paleschic, Managing Partner at Luks, Santaniello, Petrillo & Cohen in Tallahassee, FL. Dale and Dr. Bill Kanasky discuss the challenges of deposition and witness testimony of different types of healthcare professionals, including nursing staff and foreign-born physicians. Plus, they talk about why healthcare professionals, especially nurses, are so susceptible to plaintiff reptile attacks. To watch the video of this podcast: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/blog/the-csi-blog-1/post/the-litigation-psychology-podcast-episode-37-165
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
The guest for this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast is Georgianne Walker, Partner at May Oberfell Lorber. Georgianne talks to us about the challenges of preparing foreign-born physician witnesses for testimony and the concerns and anxieties of some foreign-born physicians. She also discusses the challenges of working as a female attorney and her advice for younger, early career female attorneys. Bill and Georgianne also talk about preparing for a plaintiff reptile attack, the consequences of a bad deposition and the power of a well-prepared, effective deposition and testimony, plus adjustments that need to be made in voir dire due to Covid-19 and the recent social unrest. To view the video version of this podcast, click here: https://bit.ly/3fpIz6K
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Dr. Bill Kanasky interviews St. Louis defense attorney Tad Eckenrode, Partner at Eckenrode-Maupin, about medical malpractice litigation, preparing doctors, physicians and healthcare professionals for testimony, and juror perceptions of healthcare workers in the COVID-19 era. To watch the video version of this podcast: https://bit.ly/336z1uZ.