Do not mistake a conclusion for a fact. Facts tell stories. Facts bring stories to life. Facts win cases. Conclusions do not. Better to describe in great detail what happened with facts rather than share your conclusions

We start our opening statements with what the Defendants are required to do in this case. The Rules. The Rules broken by the Defendants. That caused, for instance, their patient’s death. I almost always limit my Rules to 3. 3 Rules. At most 5.

Whether the Defendants are required by the Hospital’s policies and procedures, their own Standards of Care or state and federal laws, we want the jurors to know the rules in our case immediately before they hear the facts. We want the jurors to apply these rules to the facts of our case as we tell our story in our opening.

Conduct your entire cross examination of the defendant’s expert as a sharply directed, controlled cross examination. At the outset have their expert admit that she is prepared to give her full and final opinions at the deposition today. Use both constructive and destructive cross. Do not permit their expert to explain or elaborate until the end of the deposition, until after you’ve asked all your questions and gotten all your expert concessions.

As for telling your story, your scenes will drive your directs and crosses at trial. You’ll play out your scenes and retell portions of your story with every witness you call, and cross-examine. You will begin to see too what’s at stake for each witness.

Unless you find your story, your jurors may be bored and uninspired to act. That’s never good for a plaintiff’s trial lawyer. After all, at the end of the case you’ll tell your jurors you want things changed.

Days like this are inevitable for a trial lawyer. What do you do? Ask yourself this question. What’s really going on here? No. Really! Ask it again. However deep you’ve been digging for the past 2 years, dig deeper. You must find and you must embrace the story – your story – the one you can’t wait to tell those jurors.

A Sunzi Strategy for Expert Cross: Make Their Expert Your Expert.

Let Their Expert Know Their Deposition Is Public.

An expert, like a warrior with no way to flee, may rather make a last stand causing casualties to the enemy, your case. Fleeing soldiers are more easily killed than those with their backs to the wall, forced to fight to the death.  So have them flee.  Flee in the way most advantageous to your case and your client.  She flees as your expert.