BarbriSFCourseDetails

Course Details

This CLE webinar will discuss why and how personal injury lawyers must stop thinking about voir dire and jury selection as tasks to be ticked off a "to do" list and start realizing that in order to obtain a successful verdict, they must accept that voir dire is "baked into" the entire trial process. The panel will explain when and how to start preparing for voir dire; how each aspect of the case from day one impacts voir dire; and philosophies, methodologies, and strategies for conducting a voir dire that produces a jury sympathetic to counsel's client.

Faculty

Description

Success at trial often hinges on seating the right jury, but voir dire and jury selection too frequently get short shrift both in training, generally, and during a particular case. By increasing proficiency in these skills, counsel can significantly raise the odds of an advantageous resolution.

Jury selection is both art and science. The panel will discuss why the attorney's mindset and attitudes towards the panel are pivotal to the jury selection process. Our program will also discuss how every phase and aspect of the case plays a role in peeling back the onion of understanding the client, the witnesses, the opposition, and the values and attitudes in the matter. This is the knowledge needed for effective voir dire, and it cannot be amassed on the eve of trial.

Listen as our panel discusses strategies and tactics for getting more desirable trial results through more precise voir dire and jury selection.

Outline

  1. Introduction
  2. Why voir dire begins before anyone enters the courtroom
    • When to start thinking about voir dire
    • How attorney mindset plays a role
    • How each aspect of discovery plays a role
  3. Drawing out general attitudes, opinions, biases
  4. Building rapport
  5. Getting truthful answers to difficult/sensitive questions
  6. Specific strategies for defense attorneys

Benefits

The panel will review these and other crucial issues:

  • What juror attitudes and values are usually helpful to insurance companies defending personal injury cases?
  • When, how, and why would an attorney want to draw out a prospective juror's attitudes, opinions, and biases?
  • What is the proper attorney attitude for voir dire?
  • How can attorneys keep jurors participating?