Practice Tips « Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Leading questions, plain words and control on cross-ex

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: February 10, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

Dean Wigmore stated that cross-examination is beyond doubt “the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of the truth.” But, truth is rarely what a skillful trial lawyer seeks to accomplish on cross-examination.
Cross-examination is not only a truth-seeking process. It also is an opportunity to persuade the fact finder to your position in the [...]

Lawyers can help court reporters do their jobs better

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 23, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

Court reporters are the silent sentinels of the record. They are the invisible men and women tapping away during a court hearing or deposition. They transcribe the proceeding and fulfill a critical duty – creating a written record that can carry a case forward or stop it in its tracks.
Too often, though, attorneys unintentionally thwart [...]

Tips from the pros on how to make the best record

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 23, 2012
Tags: Practice Tips

The National Court Reporters Association has prepared teaching tools to help educate lawyers and law students on how to make the best record of legal proceedings. Below are some highlights from a course outline posted on the NCRA website.
Know the technology
Realtime allows instant viewing of the spoken words through a live feed from the reporter. [...]

Tips for an effective and ethical negotiation

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: November 30, 2011
Tags: ADR, Practice Tips

The role of business counsel is complex. The lawyer has to not only produce a legal and enforceable negotiated agreement, but also must try to get the best deal for clients while conducting the negotiation in a way that reflects positively on them.
The most ethical and effective approach to negotiation is not one that is [...]

Use the evidence to tell the jury a story

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: November 29, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips

When presenting a case to a jury, there is a fine line an attorney must walk between showy theatricality and mind-numbing exposition of technical evidence.
Be too entertaining and you lose credibility. Be too dry and jurors’ eyes roll back in their heads.
Since credibility is essential, we often err on the side of mind-numbing exposition.
But to [...]

Give great client service

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: November 23, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips

How do you measure client service?
How can you avoid being replaced?
There are no easy answers, since client service is measured in the eye of the beholder.
Research based on 240 in-depth interviews with corporate counsel conducted by the BTI Consulting Group concluded that 53 percent of clients are willing to replace their primary law firm with [...]

Tips for better client retention

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: November 3, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips

Though many lawyers work hard to expand their client base, keeping existing clients is critical to the success of a practice and can be much more efficient.
“It takes at least 10 times the effort to get a new client than to keep the ones you’ve already got,” says Tom Kane of High Point, N.C., author [...]

To build business, try not writing like a lawyer

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: October 17, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips

When it comes to writing for marketing and business-building, even the brightest of attorneys has to be reminded of the basics for effective communications:
• Use short, complete sentences.
• Choose active voice and action words.
• Avoiding case citations and legalese.
• Be succinct.
In fact, one might say that writing for contracts and briefs is the antithesis of [...]

Scalia to Richmond Bar: Persuade judges with good writing, accuracy

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: October 17, 2011
Tags: Bar Associations, Practice Tips, U.S. Supreme Court

As long as there have been judges, there have been people telling you how to persuade judges, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a crowd of 500 lawyers and judges at the annual Richmond Bench Bar conference Oct. 13.
But Scalia, known for his wit on the bench, received many a laugh [...]

Establishing ground rules to help jurors judge your case

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: October 11, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips

Baseball has a strike zone and the infield fly rule. Football has clipping and onside kicks. Basketball has both personal and team fouls. And in the litigation arena there are pre-trial and in-limine rulings. Judges are the umpires and referees. They both make the rules and make the attorneys follow the rules. Litigators understand what [...]

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