Steve Wood, Ph.D. & Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. discuss the concept of operant conditioning and how it can be used with witnesses, particularly during deposition prep. Dr. Wood defines operant conditioning as the creation of an association between a behavior and the outcome. There can be both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement, though its important to understand that negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. Negative reinforcement is the elimination of a negative stim...
Aug 28, 2023•51 min•Ep. 181
Bill Mitchell, Founding Partner, Cruser & Mitchell joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss negotiation in litigation. Bill Mitchell shares his philosophy on managing litigation and comments on the lack of focus on the negotiation phase of litigation vs. the outsized focus on trial, when fewer than 1% of cases go to trial. Bill talks about mistakes that he sees defense attorneys making including not identifying the leverage point for every case and not being an open communicator and engagin...
Aug 21, 2023•45 min•Ep. 180
Gene Kissane, Partner at Cole Scott & Kissane, John Nunnally, Attorney at Ragsdale Liggett, and Billy Davis, Partner at Bovis, Kyle, Burch & Medlin join Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about the hottest topic in the legal industry today: Artificial Intelligence. The group discuss their initial perspectives on how they think AI is going to impact the legal field and litigation, what the discussions are about AI in their firms, and how they are using AI today. They talk about whether AI i...
Aug 14, 2023•45 min•Ep. 179
CSI Litigation Consultant Ava Hernandez, M.A. joins Steve Wood, Ph.D. to discuss the concept of dogmatism in jurors. Ava defines what dogmatism is and shares the different perspectives of psychologists about whether dogmatism is a personality trait or is domain specific. Steve and Ava talk about open and closed systems of thinking and how dogmatism doesn't allow an individual to change their perspective, even in the face of evidence that contradicts their beliefs. They also discuss how to approa...
Aug 07, 2023•32 min•Ep. 178
Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. continues his conversation on trucking litigation with plaintiff trucking attorney Joe Fried, Founding Partner of Fried Goldberg LLC. In this episode, Bill asks Joe about the behavior of some plaintiff attorneys who express disdain for the insurance company, who refuse to settle or negotiate, and take a very aggressive stance in dealing with the defense. They also discuss how defense witness ""pivoting"" kills credibility at deposition (and trial) and greatly helps the p...
Jul 31, 2023•24 min•Ep. 177
Plaintiff trucking attorney Joe Fried, Founding Partner of Fried Goldberg LLC, joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about a wide range of topics in trucking litigation including the importance of sincere and effective communication in the litigation process, the definition of a nuclear verdict, how Joe approaches a case from the outset, and how juror anger is only one of the factors influencing nuclear verdicts. Bill and Joe also discuss the hesitancy on the defense side of settling, the stagg...
Jul 24, 2023•41 min•Ep. 176
Jacqueline Altman, Partner at Naman Howell & Jason Goodnight, Partner at Fraden, Farris, Quillin, Goodnight, Roberts + Ward join Steve Wood, Ph.D. to talk about the gig economy. They discuss the complications and challenges from a litigation perspective for this growing, but still relatively new, industry. Jacq and Jason describe what the gig economy is, how broad it is, and how little case law exists today specific to the gig economy. The group discuss the similarities and differences of gi...
Jul 17, 2023•36 min•Ep. 175
Steve Wood, Ph.D. and Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. answer podcast listener questions: - How will AI change the legal industry and who will benefit the most, plaintiffs or defendants? - Are all nuclear verdict juries angry? How do I spot angry jurors in voir dire? - How do I handle witnesses who are dealing with personal issues? - Why do witnesses have such a deep desire to pivot and why are Yes/No answers so unsatisfying for witnesses to give? - Do attorneys welcome you with open arms when you are b...
Jun 26, 2023•25 min•Ep. 174
Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. talks about attorneys who "parachute" into a case late. These parachuting situations are happening more often, especially when the excess carrier gets involved and brings in their heavy hitter, but the geographic and culture differences of an outsider can have a material impact on jurors. It is possible for parachuting attorneys to win over a jury but there are some very specific things that must be taken into consideration by the outside attorney: 1. Be authentic - Do n...
Jun 19, 2023•30 min•Ep. 173
Oscar Lara, Shareholder at Rincon Law Group, joins Steve Wood, Ph.D. and Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about translators for non-native English speakers or foreign-born witnesses and the challenges of working with interpreters during witness preparation and for testimony. Much of Oscar's practice involves working with many Spanish-speaking witnesses and he shares the challenges of working with these witnesses, of using interpreters during witness prep, and the difficulties associated with dif...
Jun 12, 2023•39 min•Ep. 172
Steve Wood, Ph.D. & Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. talk about their latest paper published in CLM Magazine on Preventing Nuclear Settlements at Deposition and the dangers of pivoting during deposition. Steve and Bill discuss the risks to witnesses who are encouraged by defense counsel to pivot during testimony and how cases where witnesses are told to pivot settle for higher amounts than they should. They talk about the strategic and economic risks of pivoting and how a witness that pivots during ...
Jun 05, 2023•35 min•Ep. 171
Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. talks about the difference between witness prep and witness training and how the combination of the defense attorney with a witness training expert is the perfect partnership. Some attorneys don't understand or appreciate the difference between witness prep and witness training. Witness prep is the attorney's job going over documents and exhibits and developing the legal strategy. Witness training is focused on working with the witness on their cognition, behavior, and e...
May 29, 2023•19 min•Ep. 170
Dr. Steve Wood shares what to look for in a corporate representative and a list of five (5) essential elements for someone to serve as an effective 30(b)(6) witness: 1) Humility - The individual has to feel comfortable saying "I don't know". 2) Patience - The witness needs to wait for the questioner to finish asking their question before responding. They also have to be patient with the deposition and litigation process as a whole. 3) Emotional poise - The witness must avoid making emotional mis...
May 22, 2023•15 min•Ep. 169
Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talks about a list of words that the brain normally doesn't think of as bad words but which can be really bad words if a witness says them, or agrees to them, in deposition or trial testimony. These are trap words that lock witnesses into inflexible positions and are a big reason why witness effectiveness training, prior to testimony, is crucial to litigation success. The Bad Word List (aka the anti-reptile word list): always/never; must/should; required/obligated/duty; ins...
May 15, 2023•19 min•Ep. 168
Dr. Kyle Boone, Clinical Neuropsychologist and Clinical Professor at UCLA, joins Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to talk about Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) in litigation. TBI claims are increasing exponentially and Dr. Boone gives an overview of concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries and discusses assumptions, myths, and truths about the diagnosis of a mild TBI. Dr. Boone and Dr. Kanasky, Jr. discuss how these issues play out in litigation, what defense attorneys need to be aware of in TBI cas...
May 08, 2023•52 min•Ep. 166
Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. talks about egregious conduct in the trucking and transportation industry. Bill describes the importance of accurately assessing your case early with focus groups to find out what jurors might think about the case. Bill also lists specific behaviors and topics that jurors consistently have issues with in trucking and transportation cases: 1) Dash cam video; 2) Unenforced policies; 3) Log falsifications; 4) Driver substance abuse; 5) Poor hiring practices; 6) Cell phone u...
May 01, 2023•22 min•Ep. 167
Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. and Steve Wood, Ph.D. discuss who's to blame when things go poorly with a case. Bill and Steve share stories of when and how jury consultants get blamed or are set up as the fall guy for situations when depositions, jury selections, or trials turn out badly for the defense. They talk about the risk in accuracy, reliability, and predictability when cutting corners with jury research and the importance of a methodical, scientific process for recruiting, screening, and comp...
Apr 24, 2023•40 min•Ep. 165
Holly Howanitz, Partner, Wicker Smith joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about ways to prepare opening statements that attract and hold juror attention and engagement. Holly talks about using visual stimuli in openings, her thoughts on the length of her openings, and how she decides how long her openings will be. In addition, Holly discusses managing turnover within the firm when associates or attorneys leave to take another job, how her firm helps getting younger attorneys experience, and why ...
Apr 17, 2023•35 min•Ep. 162
Dr. Steve Wood discusses the topic of humanizing the corporate defendant. The data doesn’t support that making the argument to jurors that the corporation is made up of regular people who just go to work and try to do their best. Mock trials and actual trials have consistently demonstrated that jurors see through these arguments and don't buy into this. Jurors also discount arguments made about how the company supports other worthy causes, recognizing that those charitable contributions are tax ...
Apr 10, 2023•17 min•Ep. 161
Sorena Fallin, Partner & Matt Cassman, Associate Attorney from Ragsdale Liggett join Bill Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. to discuss the recently signed tort reform bill in Florida, HB 837. The changes apply to causes of action accruing after the effective date of March 24, 2023 and prior to the bill becoming law, reports state that plaintiffs’ firms filed approximately 100,000 lawsuits. Sorena outlines the bill and the impact it will have on defense firms and insurance companies. She shares details abo...
Apr 03, 2023•34 min•Ep. 164
Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talks about jury selection and why demographics and intelligence are not predictive of pro-defense jurors. A mistake defense counsel often make is identifying a few demographic criteria and then selecting a jury based on those criterion. Instead, voir dire should be conducted to gain a deeper understanding of a juror's attitudes, experiences, personality, and beliefs which are the key drivers of their evaluation and decision making process. Watch the video of this episode: ...
Mar 27, 2023•14 min•Ep. 163
Aaron Rolen, Senior Counsel with The Bassett Firm, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about managing your career as a younger attorney. Aaron shares his perspective as a younger attorney and the advantages he has realized from staying with the same firm for a number of years versus bouncing around to chase new opportunities. He also talks about what defense attorneys can do better strategically and logistically and offers his views on how to handle witness preparation. Lastly, Bill and Aaron di...
Mar 20, 2023•34 min•Ep. 160
Doug Marcello, Chief Legal Officer with Bluewire, joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about the latest report from the American Tort Reform Foundation on Judicial Hellholes. Doug shares his analysis of the report including some of the common denominators: anchoring and changing jury demographics in some areas. Bill and Doug also discuss how much of a danger nuclear settlements are and how little attention they are getting, as well as the role and purpose of training manuals and policies and proc...
Mar 13, 2023•24 min•Ep. 159
Sean Murphy, Practice Leader for CSI's Crisis Communications Practice, talks with Dr. Steve Wood about handling the crisis response to cybersecurity breaches. Sean offers good and bad examples of companies involved in cybersecurity crises, how they handled those situations, and what were the outcomes. Sean shares a guide that companies who have successfully navigated cybersecurity breaches and risks followed by taking a methodical, strategic approach to a crisis: 1. Top management led the crisis...
Mar 06, 2023•32 min•Ep. 158
Attorney Larry Schnapf and author and JFK assassination expert Jefferson Morley join Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to continue the discussion about the legal issues and challenges being mounted to obtain the release of all government documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Larry, Jeff, and Bill talk about the Schlesinger memo, the actions of the CIA in the early 60s, including their surveillance of Lee Harvey Oswald, the Gannon memo, the fact that both President Trump and Pr...
Feb 27, 2023•52 min•Ep. 157
Attorney Larry Schnapf and author and JFK assassination expert Jefferson Morley join Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to discuss the lawsuit they have filed to obtain the release of all government documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Larry, Jeff, and Bill discuss the results of the multiple mock trials that have been conducted related to the assassination, the JFK Records Act, the process they have been going through to get the remaining documents released, the role of the C...
Feb 20, 2023•52 min•Ep. 156
Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. describes how to assess jurors more accurately during the jury selection process by implementing specific measures. There are two primary ways to measure something: using dichotomous variables or continuous variables. Dichotomous is a singular (i.e. binary) choice between two options (e.g. yes/no). Continuous variables offer multiple options, such as rating on a scale from 0-10 scale. Using continuous variables to measure juror sentiment allows you to understand the intensi...
Feb 13, 2023•22 min•Ep. 155
Zack Fletcher, Senior Associate with Wood, Smith, Henning, & Berman in Chicago joins Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. to talk about a recent unique jury trial in which Zack had to defend his client against a pro se litigant in Cook County, Illinois. Zack shares details of the litigation process, including the fact that there were very few settlement negotiations that took place and the plaintiff decided to proceed pro se with very limited discovery. Because the plaintiff was pro se, the court gave the ...
Feb 06, 2023•44 min•Ep. 154
Attorneys Jason Hendren & Jackie Clark, both Partners with Hall Booth Smith, join Dr. Steve Wood to talk about medical malpractice cases. The group discusses which med mal cases are the most difficult to litigate (birth trauma; wrongful death; paralysis cases) and the challenges with managing juror sympathy in cases with young injured parties. They talk about how juror perceptions of the reputation of well-known/top tier facilities impact juror decision-making, plus the challenges of traumat...
Jan 30, 2023•44 min•Ep. 153
Dr. Steve Wood and Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. talk about witness testimony and a concept in psychology called 'cognitive momentum' (the "Yes" train). Opposing counsel will rapidly throw out easy, factual questions to get your witness used to saying 'yes', speeding up their responses, lowering their defenses, and then eventually they fall prey to questions for which the answer should not be 'yes.' Witnesses must be trained to force cognition through sophisticated, neurocognitive training. Bill and Ste...
Jan 23, 2023•41 min•Ep. 152
