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Previously, in Parts 1 and 2 of our Reptile series, we discussed what the Reptile Theory IS and what it is NOT. In this segment, we’re going “prehistoric”–back to the decades before the Reptile Theory was a thing. Back to a time when the nuclear verdicts of today were a mere twinkling in Ball & […]

By now we’ve all become acquainted with the Reptile Theory: a litigation strategy used by plaintiffs’ attorneys to obtain disproportionately large verdicts through various forms of psychological manipulation. Naturally, most defense efforts focus on legal strategies for every phase of litigation and trial. And while it’s true that our legal skills are necessary to combat

It’s never easy to find yourself in the deponent’s chair. And when you’re the defendant, you can bet that the plaintiff’s attorney has an arsenal of sneaky tricks to gain the upper hand during personal-injury depositions. While some tricks are more obvious and some are more subtle, the ultimate goal is the same: to make

TRICK: The Victim-Villain Vortex. TIP: Become a Force of Nature. Well folks, we made it! Welcome to Part 10 of our series on plaintiffs’ deposition tricks. For our final article, we’re coming full circle and taking you back to the storm and all of its chaos. Except this time, instead of managing the storm, we’re

TRICK: Manipulate the Factual Premise of the Question to Create a False Horizon. TIP: Trust Your Instruments. As we near the end of our 10-part exposé, by now it’s probably clear that, in a deposition, the main goal of the plaintiff’s attorney is to manipulate a desired outcome. Thus far, we have focused primarily on

TRICK: Use the Fog of Confusion to Extract False Admissions. TIP: Stay Alert. For the last two weeks, we have been discussing the dangers presented by the Fog of Confusion and exposing various Confusion tactics plaintiffs’ attorneys might use in a deposition. Until now, however, we have focused on Confusion solely as a path toward

In this 10-part series, Tips for Combatting Plaintiffs’ Deposition Tricks, we expose some common tricks that plaintiffs’ attorneys frequently use to gain the upper hand during a personal-injury deposition. If you find yourself in the deponent’s chair, here are some tips for recognizing and combatting these tricks so you can stay calm, maintain control, and

TRICK: Induce Low Road Cognition with the Fog of Confusion. TIP: Plan Ahead. Welcome back to our 10-part series exposing common tricks used by plaintiffs’ attorneys in depositions and what you can do to prepare for them. So far, we’ve been focusing on the importance of maintaining “High Road Cognition” in order to best represent

TRICK: Induce Low Road Cognition with the Fog of Confusion. TIP: Proceed with Caution. Last week we introduced the Fog of Confusion as a third way deponents might find themselves on an unexpected detour toward the Low Road. (Be sure to check out our article on the Ring of Fire for a quick refresher on

In this 10-part series, Tips for Combatting Plaintiffs’ Deposition Tricks, we expose some common tricks that plaintiffs’ attorneys frequently use to gain the upper hand during a personal-injury deposition. If you find yourself in the deponent’s chair, here aresome tips for recognizing and combatting these tricks so you can stay calm, maintain control, and better