The New Science of Trial Advocacy

Times have changed, and lawyers must change with the times. Jurors have become experts in everything and suspicious of everyone, including lawyers and their hand-picked experts. Jurors are increasingly focused on the information and increasingly annoyed by the way lawyers spin and spoon-feed it to them. It's not about us anymore. Tell jurors something is "clear," and they will assume it is not. Tell them to award a specific number, and they will avoid that number like the bubonic plague. They are tired of lawyers' arguments and objections. They want lawyers to stop bickering, roll up their sleeves, and start helping them wade through the evidence. Forget traditional voir dire, one-sided opening statements, naive cross-examination, and hard-selling closing arguments. Stop emulating mad dog litigators and calling bobblehead experts. It's time for a new trial playbook that ignores conventional wisdom and embraces the changes in jury psychology. Our jurors know they are the most important people in the courtroom, and they want better service. Let's give it to them. Yes, becoming good waiters is easier said than done, but we must rethink our approach. We have no choice. We must adapt or die. The Golden Age of Lawyers has ended. The Age of Jurors has begun.