(I so wanted to accompany this post with a still photo from the scene in Training Day in which Denzel Washington, wielding a sawed-off shotgun, tells Ethan Hawke’s character, “You know I’m surgical with this bitch!”…
Read ArticleFrom Day One it is hammered into the head of every lawyer headed for trial: Ask Only Leading Questions. But is this truly gospel? McElhaney, quoting Mauet and others, doesn’t think so. Not only…
Read ArticleWell, it wasn’t just one clerk, and she/they didn’t tell me, exactly. A friend with excellent connections at the USDC, Central District of California, Bankruptcy and Ninth Circuit courthouses polled clerks she knew about what…
Read ArticleShould our trial preparation and presentation be appreciably different when trying a bench trial or arbitration before a single arbitrator? If so, how? As in most instances, McElhaney offers spectacular guidance on this…
Read ArticleSoundbite questions are a hallmark of depositions taken of Persons Most Knowledgeable (PMK aka Persons Most Qualified or PMQ) within an organization on certain topics. Here are some examples: “Does your company, manufacturer XYZ,…
Read ArticleI’ve written about dealing with difficult or overly coaching counsel when trying to conduct a deposition. Considering that the entire purpose for taking a deposition is to gather evidence, and a coaching or otherwise difficult…
Read ArticleIn case this term is foreign to you, a “running objection” is sometimes offered by a party taking a deposition (or during a hearing or trial) when it appears that they are going to repeatedly…
Read ArticleI previously wrote that I disagreed with the proposal to amend the California Code of Civil Procedure to limit depositions to 7 hours. Well, now we’re stuck with it.* So, I thought I would explore strategies to…
Read ArticleBloomberg TV interviewed Vel Hogan, the foreperson of the jury in the recent Apple v. Microsoft patent trial, which returned a $1 billion verdict in Apple’s favor. Undoubtedly future jury consultants will anchor entire PhD…
Read ArticleIn his book, Litigation, Professor James McElhaney laments the fact that civil litigators are horrified at the prospect of a blind cross-examination. As a result, he argues, “[e]very year we spend millions of dollars…
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