Personal Injury and Jury Selection: Gaining the Advantage by Replacing the Checklist Approach to Voir Dire
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
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.
Outline
- Introduction
- 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
- Drawing out general attitudes, opinions, biases
- Building rapport
- Getting truthful answers to difficult/sensitive questions
- 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?
Faculty
Shari Belitz
Consultant
Shari Belitz Communications
Ms. Belitz is a litigation consultant and strategist, owner and CEO of Shari Belitz Communications, LLC a company which... | Read More
Ms. Belitz is a litigation consultant and strategist, owner and CEO of Shari Belitz Communications, LLC a company which provides mock trials, focus groups, jury selection, and other litigation consulting services to lawyers and insurance industry professionals. She is also founder of its companion course EnPSYCHLAWpedia™, an educational platform which uses video and written materials to teach lawyers how to use social psychology to achieve favorable litigation outcomes, at settlement or trial.
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Kelly Hanker
Attorney
Trial Lawyers for Justice
Ms. Hanker is a trial attorney known for increasing the value of cases across the country, including catastrophic and... | Read More
Ms. Hanker is a trial attorney known for increasing the value of cases across the country, including catastrophic and traumatic injury, employment, business litigation, class action, and medical malpractice cases. Ms. Hanker’s connection to her clients after sustaining a life-long disability in a car crash herself and being called in to the Plaintiff’s side by her then trial attorney—now mentor, Nick Rowley—is unmatched. Ms. Hanker, now often referred to as the Empathy Lawyer, has repeatedly been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for Southern California, is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Method trial college and has been honored by the Los Angeles Business Journal as a finalist for Philanthropist of the Year. She also serves on the Foundation Board of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, the Consumer Attorneys of California Women’s Caucus, the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles’s Women in Law Committee and is a member of AAJ.
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Robert E. Ray, J.D., Ph.D.
Chief Trial Consultant
Veritas Research
As a trial consultant, Dr. Ray brings a wealth of experience to the table, both as a trial consultant and as a trial... | Read More
As a trial consultant, Dr. Ray brings a wealth of experience to the table, both as a trial consultant and as a trial attorney. Since 1998, he has provided research and courtroom consulting to attorneys in cases throughout the United States, including theme development and strategy advice. He has provided research and consulting advice in mass tort actions such as tobacco and pharmaceutical litigation to insurance disputes and entertainment and publishing cases.
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