Washington State Trial Law & Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Robert M. Boggs : Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Yakima, Vancouver

You know that the new federal rules will soon be in effect.  You know that there are dozens of books out there on the new rules and the whole field of ediscovery.  But, you just haven't had the time or inclination to crack those books open.  A great way to get going on the subject is to listen to podcasts.  Podcasts of course can be downloaded to your Ipod or other MP3 player.  You can then listen to them while driving, jogging or just laying on the couch.  And, they are free!

A great podcast of the subject can be found at Legal Talk Network.  It is a podcast of the Coast to Coast radio show put on by J. Craig Williams and Robert Ambrogi.  Give it a try.

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This summer I attended a 10 day seminar put on by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy entitled Building Trial Skills. I found that the substantive information that was taught was pretty much standard fair with the exception of some technology information.  Some experienced attorneys might pass it up.  But what I found very useful for the beginning attorney or the more experienced attorney was the hands on work and the review of that work by some of the better, if not legendary,  trial lawyers in the Pacific Northwest.  Many of your opening statements, closing arguments, cross examinations etc. are taped and then you are allowed to sit down one on one with one of the legendary trial attorneys who then critiques your work.  You would be surprised at how much you learn doing that.  Knowledge of the technique is one thing, executing it is another. NITA puts this seminar on all year long in different regions of the country.  They also have a smorgasboard of other seminars including Advanced Trial Skills which I intend to take next year.

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I collect books on trial advocacy, communication, persuasion and just about any subject that will help with trial advocacy.  Like most people I have a hard time finding the time to read them all or to make a decision about which book I should read next.  One of those books sitting on my shelf is Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Powerpoint to Create Presentations that Inform, Motivate and Inspire  by Cliff Atkinson.  It will be the next book I pull off the shelf.  I stumbled across an old post from back in May 17, 2006 that gave a link to a one hour webinar that he gave on his ideas about using PowerPoint.  For those who have fallen asleep watching bullet pointed presentations this webinar will point you to a way of doing presentations wherein the audience (i.e. jury) will not fall asleep and will retain the information presented better.

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Prolific blawger Evan Schaeffer is about to publish a book entitled Deposition Checklists and Strategies.  If it is as good as his posts and podcasts on depositions it should be a great addition to your library.

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Just this month David Swanner and others launched "Trial Lawyer Resource Center: Trial Tips and Techniques From a Group of the Nation's Leading Trial Lawyers."  Looks spectacular.

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I stumbled across a site entitled Trial Advocacy Bibliography published in 2003 by Gail A. Partin of  the Dickinson School of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. It contains a very comprehensive list of trial advocacy books and some videos published in at least the last 80 years.  Think you've read them all ... think again!

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