With so much at stake in today’s trials, trial attorneys must constantly refine their craft and hone their skills to achieve the most favorable results for their clients at trial. From selecting your jury to delivering your final argument almost every tactical decision you make and deploy in the courtroom can affect the outcome of your client’s case even where you stand in the courtroom.
In this course trial attorney Roy Comer shares his thirty years of legal and trial experience with you by providing his thirty-two common sense rules of trial advocacy. The main areas covered include basic & universal rules of trial practice, jury selection, opening statements, direct examination, cross examination and the final argument. The rules discussed include showing the jury the way home, sticking to the truth, looking like a lawyer, not sounding like a lawyer, using persuasion aids, deselecting a jury, listening more & talking less, thinking big principle, thinking story, the importance of simplicity & brevity, sticking to the facts, stating enough facts to justify the verdict, preparing the jury for the boring bits, laying a proper foundation, not expecting the fact finder to believe the unbelievable, embracing & dealing with the weak points in your case, planning your movement within the courtroom, listening intently, keeping objections to a minimum, varying the style of your questions, controlling the witness, stopping when you’ve accomplished your goals on cross, the perils of demanding “yes” or “no” answers from witnesses, pinning down the witness before impeachment, avoiding fishing expeditions, never asking “Why”? and never asking “How?,” arming your favorable jurors, using emotion with caution and clarify but not rebutting during the final argument.
For over thirty years Roy L. Comer has been dedicated to handling damage cases, including catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases arising from automobile, truck, motorcycle, medical negligence, defective products, and dangerous premises claims. In addition, Mr. Comer has represented individuals and medium-sized businesses in real estate, landlord-tenant, insurance and contract disputes. Defending these types of claims has provided Mr. Comer with further insight into how insurance companies approach these claims. Mr. Comer’s clients depend on his broad experience, coupled with the highest legal, professional and empathic standards.