Clients from Hell: Tough times mean tough choices for lawyers

Bringing ‘mind-mapping’ into the courtroom

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: April 23, 2013
Tags: Practice Tips, Technology

Toss the term “mind-mapping” into conversation and you’ll likely draw sideways glances. It sounds like something that would happen aboard alien space craft, and, in raw form, it looks like the doodles of a bored college student. But consumer protection attorney Dave Maxfield, based in Columbia, S.C., believes lawyers can use the technique to great [...]

How to own cross-examination of a witness

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: March 26, 2013
Tags: Practice Tips

Of everything that goes into being a trial lawyer, nothing is more difficult, more subtle or more challenging than cross-examination. Writing about cross-examination is a little bit like writing about golf. Reading an article by Tiger Woods on the fundamentals of the swing is unlikely to result in a lower handicap. But, if you take [...]

Barriers to communication, understanding

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: December 26, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

Lawyers usually hate jury selection. Not only does voir dire provide limited time and information to identify jurors who will decide the fate of their clients, but it directly confronts attorneys with a problem they have in communicating complex cases to today’s demanding and skeptical juror: that jurors and attorneys think and communicate in completely [...]

Get off on the right foot

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: October 30, 2012
Tags: Bar passers, Practice Tips

Editor’s Note: Barbara Rabinovitz, a former reporter at Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a sister paper of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, interviewed veteran prosecutor Christina E. Miller of Boston, seeking her advice to newly admitted bar passers. Miller’s comments appear below. Informing colleagues about the areas of law in which one is interested helps a new lawyer land [...]

Juries see more than just the evidence

By Sylvia Hsieh
Published: October 12, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

Don’t wear a pinky ring. Don’t wear monogrammed shirts. Don’t drive your fancy sports car to the courthouse. These are some of the rules lawyers follow if they don’t want to alienate jurors on Day 1. Why? Because juries are taking note of everything that happens at trial, not just the evidence. In a high-stakes [...]

Benchbook Bounty: Judges’ guidebook helps busy lawyers

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 24, 2012
Tags: General District Courts, Practice Tips

A little-used resource can give lawyers in Virginia a big boost when they head into the courtroom. It is authoritative and available at no charge. This value-filled vault can be unlocked at the click of a mouse. It’s the District Court Judges’ Benchbook. The Benchbook is a guide for general district and juvenile and domestic [...]

Redefining expert witness credibility for juries

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: August 14, 2012
Tags: Litigation Support, Practice Tips

Juries routinely dismiss expert testimony due to credibility problems, incomprehensibility, or simply because it is cancelled out by another expert’s testimony. This leads to a number of important questions for the attorney and the expert in presenting testimony at trial. What exactly is credibility? Is an expert an advocate? How objective is an expert supposed [...]

Can we talk? Combatting the fear of runaway fees

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 18, 2012
Tags: Corporate Counsel, Practice Tips, Virginia Bar Association

A couple of years ago, a lawyer and his partner went to pitch a client for work on a closely held business dispute. The competition was heavy and costs were a significant concern. “What are your rates?” one of the client’s representatives bluntly asked. They were high, the lawyer knew, and he knew they were [...]

Questions you should be asking your clients

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: June 18, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

In today’s economy, competition in the legal field is fierce. If you are not asking your clients about their growing business needs, it’s safe to assume that someone else is. There are many opportunities throughout the life cycle of a client relationship for you to stop and check on your progress, whether it’s before you [...]