Posts Tagged ‘Scott Greenfield’
Storytelling: The Why and the How
One of my favorite bloggers on trial advocacy is Mark Bennett. Mark has written a series of great posts at Simple Justice, Scott Greenfield’s blog on the topic of opening statements. Mark offers 11 rules for better opening statements. One tip is to limit your opening statement to fifteen minutes. From experience, this is a…
Read MoreThe Future of Twitter
Over at Simple Justice, Scott Greenfield has a post about the future of Twitter (with a scatalogical title). In summary, the problem with Twitter and several other “tools” is that, while it has attracted many eyeballs, it is difficult to turn those eyeballs into money. I can’t speak to the broader economic trends. I can…
Read MoreThe Importance of Lawyerly Agnosticism
Recently Scott Greenfield wrote about David Aylor’s rather noisy departure from accused murderer, Michael Slager’s case. So much went wrong and was analyzed in the post. But there’s one piece of it that I want to emphasize here. Mr. Greenfield writes: It’s hard to blame Aylor for being sucked in by Slager’s lie. Clients lie…
Read MoreIf Juries Could Impose the Sentence
In Georgia, juries generally don’t get to decide the sentence. Only where the State is seeking death does the jury get a hand in sentencing. Not only do Georgia juries not get a say in sentencing decisions, our law is designed not to let them know a great deal about what might happen at sentencing.…
Read MoreTo Be a Better Listener / To Ask for Advice Better
It’s been a long holiday season, and January’s been a busy time. I’m hoping to re-develop the blogging habit. And I find that I am much better at writing posts when I’m reading posts. Toward that end, I opened up the RSS app and caught back up on my favorite blogs, Simple Justice and Defending…
Read MoreGeorgia Appeals Court Rules “Mandate Ugliness”
In his blog yesterday, Kendall Gray referenced the Rules of the Georgia Court of Appeals, citing it as “a jurisdiction with rule-mandated ugliness.” Kendall’s blog post comes at a time when I am reading Typography for Lawyers by William Butterick. I’ve learned a great deal about fonts and layout and was all excited about using…
Read MoreHow Your Brief Looks is Nearly as Important as What You Say
Design is an important part of brief writing. And the font and layout you choose will have an impact on how the Court receives your brief. It certainly shapes how I feel about writing the brief and submitting it. I cannot see the Courier New Font without thinking of the research, writing, and advocacy in…
Read MoreSome Thoughts on Relating to Clients in Georgia Criminal Cases
It’s been a long week. I’ve had to have “the talk” with several of my clients. In case you don’t know what I mean by “the talk,” allow me to explain. There comes a point in just about every attorney-client relationship where there is an important decision to be made. You give your assessment, and…
Read MoreIt Isn’t Done Until You Have Communicated in Georgia Appeals and Habeas Cases
Scott Greenfield wrote a good story a few days ago in his blog, Simple Justice. I say “good” in the sense that it made me evaluate the part of practicing law where it can be easiest to drop the ball. In the post, he tells the story of a call he received from the relative…
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