The Litigation Psychology Podcast

Colleen Burke, James Hunter, and Kari Melkonian, Attorneys with Michigan law firm Collins Einhorn Farrell join Dr. Steve Wood to discuss the topic of virtual depositions. The group shares their experiences thus far with doing online depositions, including how they got started and what they've learned as best practices, plus things to watch out for. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of...

Ellen Voie, President and CEO of the Women in Trucking Association, joins the podcast to talk with Dr. Bill Kanasky about this association she started in 2007. Ellen and Bill discuss how and why the organization began, who its members are (its not only women!) and the roles that women play in the trucking industry. Ellen shares how she attracts women to a traditionally male dominated industry by t...

Brent Turman, Partner and Trial Attorney with Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP in Dallas, TX, joins the podcast to talk about how attorneys can draw inspiration from Kanye West in their approach to litigation. Brent uses milestones in Kanye's life and career to illustrate opportunities for litigators in how they manage cases. Brent and Dr. Steve Wood discuss four specific lessons including finding y...

Jonathan Barbee, Attorney with MoloLamken LLP, talks with Dr. Steve Wood about IP litigation. Jonathan has broad IP litigation experience working primarily on patent cases, but manages the litigation for trade secret and copyright cases as well. Jonathan and Steve discuss the approach to different types of Intellectual Property litigation and the additional challenges encountered in IP cases that...

Attorney Nick Rauch with Larson King in St. Paul, Minnesota joins the podcast and talks with Dr. Bill Kanasky about his recent article in For the Defense on counter anchoring and the reverse reptile and how he has used reverse reptile in depositions. Nick explains the concepts of anchoring and counter-anchoring and shares examples to describe this psychological concept and how it influences jurors...

Well-known speaker and author Frank Ramos, Jr., Partner with Clarke Silverglate, joins the podcast to share a bit about his background and his approach to mentoring young, early career attorneys. Frank talks about his recommendations for attorneys to focus on training for both soft and hard skills and his suggestions on marketing and promoting yourself, particularly on social media. He provides hi...

Brad Hughes, trial lawyer with Clark Hill in Los Angeles, joins the podcast to talk about the differences in how he approaches a catastrophic injury case in his transportation litigation work versus a corporate matter. Dr. Bill Kanasky and Brad discuss the increasing presence of Reptile in commercial cases, the differences between preparing witnesses in trucking cases versus witnesses in commercia...

Trucking defense attorney Sophia Bernard of Lewis Brisbois in Tampa joins the podcast to talk about transportation and trucking litigation and her process on handling catastrophic cases. She discusses the difficulties of dealing with the emotion of the driver and the importance of recognizing and addressing the trauma the driver is experiencing due to the accident and having to relive it during de...

Trial attorneys and partners Thomas Segars & James Weiss from Ellis | Winters join the podcast to talk with Dr. Bill Kanasky about high exposure litigation and their process to approach these cases. Tom and Jamie share the importance of getting started early and the work they do on thinking about the themes for both the defense and for opposing counsel. They emphasize the need to meet with you...

Shareholder and defense attorney Heather Snider from Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney in Chicago joins the podcast and shares her experience with a recent 5-day Zoom bench trial, including what worked, what didn't, how technical issues and objections were handled, and more. Heather and Dr. Bill Kanasky also discuss the current and future state of virtual depositions, virtual witness training...

Trial attorney Brent A. Turman from Dallas firm Bell Nunnally & Martin, LLP joins the podcast with Dr. Steve Wood to discuss the value and impact of storytelling in litigation. Brent has a fascinating background that has helped him develop his storytelling skills, which he applies to cases he works on. Brent worked on the "Fifty Shades of Grey" fan fiction royalties dispute case from a few yea...

This episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast focuses on how the trucking and transportation industry responded to the pandemic and the impressions, attitudes, and beliefs that jurors have toward transportation and trucking companies. Dr. Steve Wood discusses research that CSI has conducted to understand jurors' views of the trucking industry in light of Covid-19 and the role these companies h...

Trucking defense attorney Mike Bassett joins the podcast to discuss the steps that he takes before he begins working with a witness: establishing trust, understanding their backstory, addressing their concerns and questions and establishing their state of mind. Without the proper pre-preparation, any training or witness prep you have planned will not stick. Mike and Dr. Bill Kanasky discuss the im...

Trucking defense attorney Mark Perkins shares his personal experience with mental health and how he handles and addresses it. Mark and Bill Kanasky, Ph. D. talk about the ways the legal industry has, and has not, addressed mental health issues. They also discuss how the personal struggles that witnesses are experiencing in their daily lives, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, affect t...

Our focus on mental health issues in litigation continues with trucking attorney Larry Hall, Shareholder with Sandberg Phoenix law firm in St. Louis, MO. Larry is the head of the transportation group and has extensive experience in trucking litigation. Larry and Dr. Bill Kanasky discuss the historically negative perception that jurors have had of the trucking industry and the opportunities that de...

In this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, Bill Kanasky, Ph. D. and Alyssa Parker, Ph. D. discuss the sensitive but hugely important topic of mental health. Mental health has always been a factor in litigation but since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has become broader and more critical, affecting an even larger percentage of the population. Dr. Kanasky and Dr. Parker talk ab...

In this week's podcast, trial attorneys Paul Motz, Shareholder, Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney and Matt Moffett, Partner, Gray, Rust, St. Amand, Moffett & Brieske, LLP, join CSI Litigation Consultants Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky to discuss the topic of attorney credibility and attorney demeanor. The group talks about the difference between plaintiff and defense attorney perform...

Video has become common for depositions, mediations, and witness trainings during these days of physical distancing. But appearing on video for these virtual sessions isn't the same as being in person and requires a specific approach and attention to detail to different things. Jackie Arguijo, Video Production Coordinator for Courtroom Sciences, Inc. joins the podcast to talk about best practices...

In this episode of the Litigation Psychology Podcast, CSI Litigation Consultants Dr. Bill Kanasky, Dr. Alyssa Parker, and Dr. Steve Wood discuss virtual witness training best practices. The team talks about the advantages of conducting witness effectiveness trainings virtually since depositions are also being done remotely, as well as how they go about delivering effective witness training when th...

Trucking attorney Doug Marcello joins the podcast to discuss trial tactics for trucking litigation cases. Doug shares the process he uses in planning his case, the importance of persuasion, and how he builds a story for the jury right from opening statement. Doug and Dr. Bill Kanasky also talk about the impact of Reptile on trucking litigation with the ubiquitous - and dangerous - challenge of the...

Rick Braun, Partner in the Detroit office of Hawkins Parnell and Young, LLP talks with CSI Litigation Consultant Dr. Steve Wood about toxic tort cases, how the media portrays these types of cases and how these portrayals impact defending toxic tort cases. They discuss the influence of pop culture, infotainment, "pseudo-science", and plaintiff attorney TV advertising on the perceptions of the jury...

Author, forensic engineer, and insurance industry expert Tim Christ joins the podcast to discuss forensic investigations for fraud and how his book on this topic: Becoming a World-Class Expert: The Business of Forensic Engineering came to be. Tim talks about how mediations can be used to resolve claims, what a client should look for when hiring an expert, the importance of preparing expert witness...

CSI Litigation Consultant Dr. Steve Wood joins the podcast to discuss the causes of nuclear verdicts and the myth of social inflation. Dr. Wood and Dr. Kanasky explain the psychology behind the concept of social inflation and why it is being promoted so much. They also talk about how you can leverage early jury research and science to find out what will happen in a case, and the importance of doin...

Jason Long, Attorney with London | Amburn Attorneys at Law joins the podcast to discuss several healthcare litigation topics. Jason and Dr. Bill Kanasky talk about what the impacts of Covid-19 have been - both good and bad - on witness training , depositions, and some lessons learned thus far. They also chat about the importance of talking to healthcare professionals on how to answer questions abo...

In this episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast, Dr. Bill Kanasky is joined by Atlanta area trial attorney John E. Hall, Jr., Partner, Hall Booth Smith to discuss healthcare litigation. Bill and John talk about birth injury cases and the importance of understanding the basics of the medical aspects of the case, as well as the emotions of the family and the nurses and healthcare staff in these...