The Litigation Psychology Podcast

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 164 - Egregious Conduct in Trucking and Transportation Cases

Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. talks about egregious conduct in the trucking and transportation industry. Bill describes the importance of accurately assessing your case early with focus groups to find out what jurors might think about the case.
Bill also lists specific behaviors and topics that jurors consistently have issues with in trucking and transportation cases: 1) Dash cam video; 2) Unenforced policies; 3) Log falsifications; 4) Driver substance abuse; 5) Poor hiring practices; 6) Cell phone use by driver; 7) Listening to YouTube (but not watching); 8) Weak driver training; 9) Excessive speed; 10) Driving in inclement weather; 11) Sleeping hour violations; 12) Social media posts.
Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/3nd

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 163 - Blame and Finger Pointing for Bad Litigation Outcomes

Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. and Steve Wood, Ph.D. discuss who's to blame when things go poorly with a case. Bill and Steve share stories of when and how jury consultants get blamed or are set up as the fall guy for situations when depositions, jury selections, or trials turn out badly for the defense. They talk about the risk in accuracy, reliability, and predictability when cutting corners with jury research and the importance of a methodical, scientific process for recruiting, screening, and compensating jurors for a mock trial. They also discuss the problems with clients requesting to accomplish too much in a single mock trial when its a complicated case, not putting on the best opposition case in a mock trial, and how the reluctance on the defense side to admit liability can create risks and that admitting liability and anchoring damages needs to be tested in a mock trial. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/3vv

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 162 - Develop & Deliver Opening Statements to Captivate Jurors

Holly Howanitz, Partner, Wicker Smith joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about ways to prepare opening statements that attract and hold juror attention and engagement. Holly talks about using visual stimuli in openings, her thoughts on the length of her openings, and how she decides how long her openings will be. In addition, Holly discusses managing turnover within the firm when associates or attorneys leave to take another job, how her firm helps getting younger attorneys experience, and why clients need to understand the necessity of getting these younger attorneys valuable experience with witness prep, mediations, and trial. Bill and Holly also talk about managing disagreements with clients or a lack of alignment on the assessment or strategy of a case. Lastly they discuss the role of fitness and managing your physical and mental health when having stressful jobs. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/qNd

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 161 - Humanizing the Corporate Defendant

Dr. Steve Wood discusses the topic of humanizing the corporate defendant. The data doesn’t support that making the argument to jurors that the corporation is made up of regular people who just go to work and try to do their best. Mock trials and actual trials have consistently demonstrated that jurors see through these arguments and don't buy into this. Jurors also discount arguments made about how the company supports other worthy causes, recognizing that those charitable contributions are tax write-offs and calling those actions out as insincere or tainted. 
Based on all this, what can be done to humanize the corporate defendant?1) Work with your corporate representatives by getting them involved early to ensure they are prepared for trick questions in deposition, present well at deposition and trial, and that their testimony and demeanor is credible; 2) Have a plan for communicating in a crisis. Work with an experienced crisis management and crisis response team to define the narrative of the incident and the company's response. A strategic and thoughtful crisis communication response can defend and even bolster the reputation of the company even before the possibility of litigation arises; 3) Get an idea of anti-corporate bias in jury selection by asking more insightful voir dire questions and digging deeper into juror attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and personalities to identify explicit or implicit biases; 4) Make a plan to address head-on the topic that plaintiff's counsel will bring up about your client valuing profits over safety; 5) During trial, be cognizant of how the corporate rep is behaving and the impression the corporate rep is giving the jury, even while they are just sitting at the defense table. Humanizing the corporate defendant is possible, but it requires a deliberate approach and being aware of juror perceptions throughout the entire litigation process.

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 160 - All About Florida HB 837 Civil Remedies - Florida Tort Reform

Sorena Fallin, Partner & Matt Cassman, Associate Attorney from Ragsdale Liggett join Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss the recently signed tort reform bill in Florida,  HB 837. The changes apply to causes of action accruing after the effective date of March 24, 2023 and prior to the bill becoming law, reports state that plaintiffs’ firms filed approximately 100,000 lawsuits. Sorena outlines the bill and the impact it will have on defense firms and insurance companies. She shares details about the reduction in the statute of limitations and the change in the law that limits the amount of evidence of past medical bills to what has been paid versus what was billed. The new law changes Florida’s apportionment standard from a pure comparative negligence approach to a modified comparative negligence approach. Also under the new law, if a jury finds that a plaintiff is more than 50% at fault for their own harm, then the plaintiff is barred from recovering any damages from any defendant. This may reduce the volume of litigation for defense firms and may allow more pre-suit resolutions. Sorena and Matt also talk about letters of protection, the overall impact on medical malpractice litigation in Florida, the reaction of the plaintiff's bar, and more. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/9JD

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 159 - Missing the Boat in Jury Selection

Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talks about jury selection and why demographics and intelligence are not predictive of pro-defense jurors. A mistake defense counsel often make is identifying a few demographic criteria and then selecting a jury based on those criterion. Instead, voir dire should be conducted to gain a deeper understanding of a juror's attitudes, experiences, personality, and beliefs which are the key drivers of their evaluation and decision making process. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/CC1

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 158 - Managing Your Career as a Young Attorney

Aaron Rolen, Senior Counsel with The Bassett Firm, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about managing your career as a younger attorney. Aaron shares his perspective as a younger attorney and the advantages he has realized from staying with the same firm for a number of years versus bouncing around to chase new opportunities. He also talks about what defense attorneys can do better strategically and logistically and offers his views on how to handle witness preparation. Lastly, Bill and Aaron discuss the difference between a litigator and a trial attorney, the importance of storytelling that trial attorneys exhibit when compared to litigators, and getting and accepting feedback on your story plan. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/vSx

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 157 - The Latest Report on Judicial Hellholes

Doug Marcello, Chief Legal Officer with Bluewire, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about the latest report from the American Tort Reform Foundation on Judicial Hellholes. Doug shares his analysis of the report including some of the common denominators: anchoring and changing jury demographics in some areas. Bill and Doug also discuss how much of a danger nuclear settlements are and how little attention they are getting, as well as the role and purpose of training manuals and policies and procedures, and suggestions on better ways to manage the topic of safety. Lastly, Doug shares what he is seeing being successful in current litigation such as being proactive, being prepared against Reptile, and provides updates on Bluewire. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/iDs

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 156 - Handling the Crisis Response to a Cybersecurity Breach

Sean Murphy, Practice Leader for CSI's Crisis Communications Practice,  talks with Dr. Steve Wood about handling the crisis response to cybersecurity breaches. Sean offers good and bad examples of companies involved in cybersecurity crises, how they handled those situations, and what were the outcomes.  Sean shares a guide that companies who have successfully navigated cybersecurity breaches and risks followed by taking a methodical, strategic approach to a crisis:
1. Top management led the crisis response;2. Communicated quickly and transparently about the breach; 3. Designated an effective spokesperson; 4. Offered a solution; 5. Never played the blame game; 6. Made a change in how they handled their customer's data to prevent this from happening again
Lastly, Sean shares his thoughts on how to handle internal communications. He covers the importance of having your crisis team work as part of the privileged team so that those communications are protected in any future potential litigation. And he also talks about the value of having a crisis plan in advance that outlines management of company policies on what and how employees can and should communicate and when.

The Litigation Psychology Podcast - Episode 155 - JFK Assassination Revisited, Part 2 of 2

Attorney Larry Schnapf and author and JFK assassination expert Jefferson Morley join Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to continue the discussion about the legal issues and challenges being mounted to obtain the release of all government documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Larry, Jeff, and Bill talk about the Schlesinger memo, the actions of the CIA in the early 60s, including their surveillance of Lee Harvey Oswald, the Gannon memo, the fact that both President Trump and President Biden had committed to releasing all documents but both have found excuses to not do so, and more. Watch the video of this episode: https://www.courtroomsciences.com/r/zUn