Trial Guides is the leading publisher of books on litigation. A key skill in practicing law is in cross examining adverse parties, lay witnesses and expert witnesses both in deposition and trial.  There are a few different methods of doing cross examination correctly.  Trial Guides publishes most of the best selling books and CLE videos on cross examination for lawyers, but what are the differences in what they teach?  And how can you improve your cross examination skills in deposition, arbitration and trial?

Today we are recognizing Keith Mitnik’s best selling book Don’t Eat the Bruises for reaching 100 customer reviews. 

The book covers Keith’s insights from his work as lead litigation strategist at Morgan & Morgan, creating ideas and then testing them on a wide variety of cases through the firm’s rapidly expanding nation-wide law firm.  It provides Keith to test his ideas in a wide variety of venues throughout the country, through many different lawyers, and in cases ranging from “minor impact” auto claims and premises liability cases to medical malpractice, tobacco litigation and beyond.  Many of the concepts in the book address practical skills during voir dire, opening statement, case framing and damages.

Trial Guides congratulates lawyer and long time Trial Guides author Rick Friedman of Friedman Rubin for obtaining a $72,000,000 verdict against Monsanto today in Seattle.

For the past few years Rick has been trying cases against Monsanto for injuries caused by Monsanto's polychlorinated biphenyls "PCB" products.  This verdict follows prior verdicts of $275 million, $185 million, $82 million and $62 million.

As opposing counsel examines your witness, as you object to leading questions, and as you challenge the defense witness’s credibility, you may notice feelings of frustration, uncertainty, or even panic. Cross Examination expert Patrick Malone discusses how to identify and address these feelings.

Trial Guides is announcing a new customer success story for one of the largest personal injury verdicts of 2023.

Trial Guides Founder Aaron DeShaw has obtained a $77.5 million verdict in a recent amputation case using multiple influences from Trial Guides. His $77.5 million compensatory damages verdict is the largest personal injury verdict in Oregon history, and believed to be the highest single leg amputation verdict in the United States.  As with other customer success stories, we asked Aaron for some insights on how he obtained the verdict that might help other Trial Guides customers.

10 Ways to Improve Your Car Crash Demand Letters

According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 98.2% of all civil cases settle prior to filing a lawsuit.  Of the 1.8% tort claims that are filed, most of those resolve prior to trial. This means that nearly 100% of tort insurance claims will settle or terminate prior to a jury trial.

While many lawyers know Trial Guides as the leader in books, audio and CLEs on trial methods, the company started with a book about how to obtain maximum settlement value in auto cases. The groundbreaking book Colossus: What Every Trial Lawyer Needs to Know, featured Trial Guides founder Aaron DeShaw’s insights from years of researching the insurance company’s bodily injury software, and how lawyers could use the information to obtain maximum settlement offers for their clients in motor vehicle cases.

Master trial lawyers Nicholas and Courtney Rowley have written countless successful demand letters over their illustrious careers. In a step-by-step guided format, the Rowleys offer nine keys to writing a proper demand letter, as it relates to opening an insurance policy. 

The following is an excerpt from their bestselling book, Running with the Bulls, available through Trial Guides in paperback and ebook.

Trial Guides contributing author uses lessons from Don’t Eat The Bruises, Trial by Human, and Witness Preparation for an outstanding plaintiff outcome. This verdict is considered one of the largest slip and fall jury verdicts for a lumbar spine injury that did not result in quadriplegia.

Trial Guides congratulates author/presenters Zoe Littlepage, Randi McGinn, and Deborah Chang for an outstanding $10.5 million verdict on the tragic case Esther Nakajjigo, a Ugandan activist who was decapitated in Arches National Park in 2020. The case went to federal court, where the US admitted full liability. This outcome marks the largest federal verdict in Utah history.

In an emerging era of high competition, digital law firm marketing will be more important than ever.

Please submit all manuscript inquiries to submissions@trialguides.com.

Do you have a verdict story you’d like to share? Please contact submissions@trialguides.com.

If you have a webinar idea, we can help you bring it to life. We take submissions from anyone with a background in the legal process; this could mean trial attorneys, paralegals, medical professionals, jury trial strategists, or psychologists. Our in-house graphic design and marketing team have the skills to help your presentation reach a large and diverse audience, and our popular “On Demand” option allows your material to be viewed after the event.

Please submit webinar ideas to submissions@trialguides.com.

This month we had the opportunity to sit down with Jesse Wilson, author of Trial Guides’ newest title, Witness Preparation: How To Tell the Winning Story. 

Jesse imbues his clients and readers with the confidence to see themselves as the directors of a compelling story: one in which their injured client is not the victim, but the victor. His proven trial strategies can run contrary to what you may have learned in law school — which makes them all the more important to incorporate into your trial practice. 

If you settle most of your personal injury cases, you need to know the specific factors that are provided value by insurance companies. One of the Top 5 value drivers is a claim for Duties Under Duress.

"Duties Under Duress" is a unique term used within insurance company bodily injury software Colossus used to evaluate bodily injury claims in auto claims.

Trial Guides has resources for lawyers interested in using legal graphics in motions (Show the Brief) as well as in ADR and trial (Show the Story).

But, what about increasing your settlement offers by using graphics in your demand letters?  In a free article on the Settlement Intelligence web site, Trial Guides founder Aaron DeShaw discusses the use of litigation graphics in your demand letters to increase your settlement offers.

In a cooperative deal between High Impact and Trial Guides, lawyers can purchase a perpetual license to over 100 injury and medical procedure illustrations that can be used repeatedly to illustrate common medical procedures.

Trial Guides wants to inform our customers of a ruling that may impact Medicaid reimbursement in your cases. 

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Gallardo v. Marstiller in a 7-2 decision authored by Justice Clarence Thomas. The Court's ruling holds "The Medicaid Act permits a State to seek reimbursement from settlement payments allocated for future medical care."  

This week Trial Guides launches the Spinal Injury Litigation Listserve for plaintiff lawyers.  The new Trial Guides litigation group community groups will focus on specific topics in law.

One of the first four list serve communities is the Trial Guides Spinal Injury Litigation Group.

Trial Guides author Rick Friedman has obtained a $185,000,000 trial verdict against Monsanto in PCB litigation.

A Friedman Rubin, PLLP trial team led by Rick Friedman, Henry Jones, and Sean Gamble obtained a $185 Million Dollar verdict today in the case of Erickson et. al. v. Monsanto. The case involved three public school teachers who sued Monsanto and its corporate successors for poisoning teachers, students and parents who attended Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington between 2011 and 2016. The three teachers were the first plaintiffs to reach trial against Monsanto from a group of over 200 teachers, students and parents exposed to leaking PCB ballasts in fluorescent light fixtures at the school. The verdict follows years of hard-fought litigation between Monsanto, now owned by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and a group of parents, students and teachers who would just not give up in their quest for justice.

A $9.5 million judgment was awarded on April 23, in a wrongful death case in Hampden County, Massachusetts. The trial team consisted of Nicholas Rowley and Benjamin Novotny of Trial Lawyers for Justice and Charlotte Glinka and Karen Zahka of Keches Law Group, P.C.

Trial attorney Nick Rowley was kind enough to share a few details from the case:

The way to play it safe in law school was to raise and explain every possible issue. If five arguments supported a particular result, you had better discuss them all. Civil and criminal classes support this type of issue spotting, and some law firms believe this works in litigation. But, this law school training works against you at trial.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Madeksho shared with us strategies from From Hostage to Hero that he used to win the case:

Sari’s book helped me organize my voir dire so that I could examine the panel in an organized way given the time constraints (30 minutes per panel) that parties were given. Further, Sari’s book gave clear advice on how to “make it about the jury” by using their language and their ideas in opening and closing. The jury “got it” because of this advice.

From Hostage to Hero Reviewed by Jason Skuda

“Jurors are, for all intents and purposes, hostages.” This concept begins Sari de la Motte’s advice on approaching jury trials. As hostages, jurors are the trial’s first of two “victims.” They arrive unhappy, discombobulated, and, more often than not, scared. The plaintiff’s lawyer must free the jurors by creating a safe space for jurors to express themselves in voir dire and to act on the plaintiff’s behalf when they deliberate.

In Hidalgo County, Texas, attorneys Michael Cowen and Malorie Peacock of Cowen Rodriguez and Peacock obtained a just multimillion-dollar verdict for the widow of a man who died during a trench collapse. Read more about how they obtained the verdict.

In an article about McKinsey & Co.'s impact on business and society published in "In These Times" the media continues to cite Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

"The McKinsey-designed insurance strategy was major news through the 2000s. This was thanks to numerous lawsuits by both private attorneys and state officials like Foti, who went to war with Allstate and State Farm on behalf of consumers railroaded by the companies after not just auto collisions and fires, but natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes.

Announcing a new Trial Guides live CLE in Los Angeles featuring:

October 5, 2018: David Ball, and Artemis Malekpour covering David Ball on Damages Advances and Innovations.

October 6, 2018: Joshua Karton - Communication Tactics for Persuasive Advocacy using methods from Theater for Trial.

Trial Guides is proud to announce a new trucking seminar November 2-3, 2018 in Scottsdale Arizona.

This live Continuing Legal Education event features three of the leading trucking lawyers in the United States; Michael Leizerman, Joe Fried and Morgan Adams.

Trial Guides is pleased to announce a jury bias continuing legal education event in Atlanta Georgia on September 21-23, 2018.  The event is titled: Understanding Juror Bias and Decision Making: Using Social Science to Prepare a Winning Case.

This jury bias CLE features leading researchers and trial consultants Greg Cusimano, David Wenner, David Bossart, and Ed Lazarus. Cusimano and Wenner who created the Jury Bias Model, and are widely recognized as the legal profession's leading experts on jury bias.

Trial Guides is pleased to announce a Zen Lawyer & Advocacy CLE Workshop. In this event, Michael Leizerman, Jay Rinsen Weik, and Joshua Karton.  

The three will teach concepts from Leizerman and Weik's book Zen Lawyer: Winning with Mindfulness.  The three will then work with attendees to put the concepts into practice.  

Trial Guides is proud to announce an officially sanctioned Rules of the Road™ Continuing Legal Education live event June 1-2, 2018.  The event will be a landmark event for Trial Guides' best selling book of all time, and is being held at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Trial Guides is hosting a special party at the event to celebrate the book of this important book.

The event features Rules of the Road co-author Patrick Malone, Cliff Atkinson, Dennis Donnelly, Michael Kelly, Jim Lees, and Zoe Littlepage.

Announcing a new Trial Guides live CLE in Washington DC featuring:

April 6, 2018: David Ball, and Artemis Malekpour covering David Ball on Damages Advances and Innovations.

April 7, 2018: Keith Mitnik - Foil their Plan to Spoil Your Case.

Announcing a live continuing legal education conference on May 4-5, 2018 in Boston MA.

Speakers include Mark Mandell, Craig Fox, David Wenner, Randi McGinn, Ben Rubinowitz, Judith Livingston and Joseph A. Power, Jr.

Trial Guides is proud to announce Rick Friedman's Take Back the Courtroom IV Continuing Legal Education Live Event.

This event features an all star group of the nation's leading trial lawyers.  Primary speakers include Rick Friedman, Randi McGinn and Roger Dodd.  Guest speakers include Nick Rowley, Keith Mitnik and trial consultant Sari de la Motte.

Nick Rowley has done it again, this time obtaining a $21 million verdict in a contested liability motor vehicle case.

The Collision

Nick’s client, Danielle Laws, was a European fitness model who had just moved to California on a work visa. Humble and soft-spoken with no family and few friends nearby, the twenty-eight-year-old had just begun to make a name for herself in the states. She had lived frugally in her tiny apartment, a small motor scooter her only means of transportation. The same scooter she was driving the day Dr. Andrew Chen struck her with his Range Rover. She had been in America for only four months.

Last week, Trial Guides author Rick Friedman obtained a $21.5 million verdict in a difficult traumatic brain injury case. We wanted to share how Rick obtained the outcome despite extremely challenging facts.

Rick’s client was a fifty-seven-year old self-made multimillionaire on a cruise with Holland America Lines. He, his wife, and his daughter were scheduled for an eight-month around-the-world cruise. One day on the ship while he was walking through a doorway, the door closed suddenly and struck him in the head.

The following is an interview with one of America's greatest trial lawyers, Randi McGinn. She is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates an invitation-only group of the 100 best trial lawyers in America, and author of the Trial Guides book Changing Laws, Saving Lives.

Randi McGinn on Changing Laws, Saving Lives

Trial Guides: What made you want to write Changing Laws, Saving Lives?

Randi McGinn: I didn’t think there was a book out that gave you a feel for what it’s like to be in a case as a lawyer. And so, it was written for lawyers who are just starting out, lawyers who are experienced (because it has advice for them too), and people who think they might want to be lawyers.

The following is an interview conducted with AAJ President Lisa Blue, co-author of the Trial Guides "Little Blue Books" Preparing for Voir Dire and Conducting Voir Dire.

Trial Guides: What made you want to write the Little Blue Book series on Voir Dire?

Lisa Blue: Well as a trial lawyer and a psychologist, my passion is teaching, especially younger lawyers, and hopefully making a significant change in how they practice law, how they think about things.

Michael Leizerman on the “Three Cores”

Michael Leizerman: There are two questions that predict whether someone will do well at trial. And the first is I ask myself, “Am I present at trial? Am I aware what’s going on? Am I mindful?” And the second question is “am I emotionally connected?” I think when it comes to trial there are two reasons why lawyers don’t get bigger verdicts. The first is they don’t ask for enough money and the second is when they do ask for money, they don’t believe it. So, in this book, it goes through the three cores that are important for everybody to develop. The first is the conscious quarter that we find in the gut. That’s where we’re mindful of what we do, mindful of others...

The following is from an interview of Trial Guides author Patrick Malone on his new book The Fearless Cross Examiner: Win the Witness, Win the Case.

Trial Guides: What made you want to write a book on cross examination?

Patrick Malone: What made me want to write a book for lawyers on cross examination is that the way I grew up learning how to do cross examination never worked for me. It was frustrating. I could never figure out how you’re always supposed to ask only leading questions, and ask questions you only know the answers to. I could never do it right.

The following is from an interview of Trial Guides author Patrick Malone on his video set Rules of the Road: Roadmap to a Winning System.

Trial Guides: I wanted to ask you about your new DVD series Rules of the Road: Roadmap to a Winning System with Trial Guides. Tell us a bit about it, and what inspired you to do this.

Patrick Malone: I thought it would be fun to do something for the 10 year anniversary of Rules of the Road. We were on the eve of it when I started thinking about the book and I just kind of had the idea that I’ll do six sessions, I’ll do them a month apart, live audience of my peers in Washington DC

The following is from an interview of Trial Guides author Patrick Malone on his book Winning Medical Malpractice Cases Using the Rules of the Road Technique:

Trial Guides: What made you want to write your book Winning Medical Malpractice Cases with The Rules of the Road Technique?

Patrick Malone: This is one of those areas where the old days are so different from the modern era. In the old days a plaintiff’s lawyer was worried about getting a top expert and then once you have the expert, you’ve got a case. Within the last 10-15 years it’s just been one horror show after another where people with good cases keep losing...

The following is an interview conducted with Mark Kosieradzki, author of the Trial Guides book 30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations & the Government.

Trial Guides: So, what made you want to write a book on 30(b)(6) depositions?

Mark: Well, you know what happened is, going through the practice of law I kept getting frustrated. I’d be going up against the government of the United States, corporations, entities, and I always just felt like they were going to crush me. And then I discovered 30(b)(6) is a tool that really is a David and Goliath.

The following article is adapted from Carl Bettinger’s Twelve Heroes, One Voice: Guiding Jurors to Courageous Verdicts.

All too often, the question “What is your case about?” is met with responses filled with jargon, medical terms, and professional indifference:

      “It’s a med-mal case for failure to diagnose breast cancer.”
      “It’s a birth-injury case with CP.”
      “My client is charged with being a felon in possession.”

We choose this language because it contains familiar shorthand that other attorneys will understand. But our courtroom audience is not a sophisticated legal audience; it’s a mishmash of teachers and tech writers, grandparents and grad students: people for whom common courtroom terms like plaintiff and defendant are often intimidating and ambiguous.

Trial Guides is proud to announce the distribution of Dr. Arthur Croft's Machine vs. Man 2 DVD.

The Machine vs. Man 2 DVD contains twenty-eight fully instrumented crash tests conducted by trauma epidemiologist and researcher Dr. Arthur Croft. These studies follow the twenty-five crash tests demonstrated on Machine vs. Man 1.

Trial Guides is proud to announce Trial Guides' distribution of Dr. Arthur Croft's Machine vs. Man 1 DVD.

25 Human Subject Crash Tests, Filmed with High Speed Cameras
The Machine vs. Man 1 DVD contains twenty-five fully instrumented crash tests conducted by trauma epidemiologist and researcher Dr. Arthur Croft.

The following is an interview with trial lawyer Randi McGinn, the first female President of the Inner Circle of Advocates, and author of Trial Guides' book Changing Laws, Saving Lives.

Randi McGinn Recommends Trial Guides Products

Randi: I want to encourage lawyers to read books. I feel like I’ve written my book maybe at the exact moment when people have stopped reading books. But there is so much of value particularly in the Trial Guides books: Twelve Heroes One Voice, Rick Friedman and Pat Malone’s Rules of the Road.

The following is an interview conducted with trial lawyer Tom D'Amore, a contributing author to the Trial Guides / AAJ two volume set The Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th Edition.  The book set contains content from over 60 leading lawyers including Gerry Spence, Bill Barton, Lisa Blue, Frank Branson, Virginia Buchanan, Michael Burg, Dr. Arthur Croft, Aaron DeShaw, Joe Fried, Robert Habush, Robert Hirschhorn, Mark Lanier, Judith Livingston, Patrick Malone, Randi McGinn, Peter Perlman, David Wenner and many more.  In this interview, Tom provides advice for both new and experienced plaintiff lawyers.

Tom D'Amore discusses his chapter on Motor Vehicle Incident Reconstruction

The following is an interview conducted with John Romano, Past-President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, and editor of the Trial Guides / AAJ two volume set The Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th Edition.  The book set contains content from over 60 leading lawyers including Gerry Spence, Bill Barton, Lisa Blue, Frank Branson, Virginia Buchanan, Michael Burg, Dr. Arthur Croft, Aaron DeShaw, Joe Fried, Robert Habush, Robert Hirschhorn, Mark Lanier, Judith Livingston, Patrick Malone, Randi McGinn, Peter Perlman, David Wenner and many more.  In this interview, John provides advice for both new and experienced plaintiff lawyers.

The following is an interview conducted with AAJ President Lisa Blue, co-author of the Trial Guides "Little Blue Books" Preparing for Voir Dire and Conducting Voir Dire on her participation in the AAJ / Trial Guides two book set Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, 4th Ed.

Trial Guides: Why write a chapter in Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit on mock trials and focus groups?

Lisa Blue: Because I think focus group and mock trials are important for every single case. If your case is important enough to take, it’s important enough to do some type of focus group to find out what your real issues are so you can have a successful result for your client...

Twice in the last four years, Trial Guides has convinced Rick Friedman to present a two-day seminar. Titled "Take Back the Courtroom," these seminars have helped a select group of plaintiffs’ lawyers take their trial skills to the next level.

Now, Trial Guides is proud to announce the third "Take Back the Courtroom" seminar, in Miami, Florida, on February 22–23, 2013.

Book review of Show the Story in Trial News:

Veteran Seattle trial attorney William S. Baily and his brother Robert W. Bailey, a California-based trial consultant, have produced Show the Story, an indispensable guide to visual presentation during trial. They teach attorneys how to think in pictures and diagrams—as well as words—in order to present their case in the most compelling manner possible. To do so, the Baileys mine their own extensive trial experience, but they also turn to other experts for added insights: plaintiff and defense attorneys, judges, law professors, graphic-production artists, and consultants. The result is a compendium of advice on what works visually in a trial setting and, just as importantly, what does not.

Book Review by Kathleen Nastri in Trial Magazine (July, 2012)

Trial lawyers committed to their craft will be taken to the next level by Twelve Heroes, One Voice: Guiding Jurors to Courageous Verdicts. Carl Bettinger’s book acknowledges some of the best resources on trial practice and then takes another step. He shows us how to use our storytelling skills and passion to make convincing presentations and win jurors’ hearts.

Resolving ERISA Liens Continuing Legal Education Webinar

Since the Supreme Court’s 2006 decision in Sereboff, claims made by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) qualified plans against third party recoveries has been a growing area of attention for trial attorneys and their clients. While these plans can create strong rights of reimbursement, it is essential to understand how and when these rights are created. Furthermore, in the wake of the Sixth Circuit’s 2009 opinion in Longaberger v. Kolt, the obligation of an attorney to an ERISA plan has been a hotly contested area. Get the latest decisions on this and other important areas of ERISA.

Auto cases the insurers designate as "Minor impact" due to minimal visible vehicle damage are amongst the most difficult plaintiff cases to win, despite there being no correlation between vehicle damage and occupant injury.

Join trial consultant David Ball and veteran trial lawyer Gary Johnson for a webinar called "Reptile in MIST Cases." This webinar will discuss the use of the Reptile method to win "Minor Impact Soft Tissue" cases.

The Ethics of Confidentiality Agreements

Secrecy agreements at the end of a civil lawsuit are commonplace. But as leading attorney Patrick Malone explains, they are usually unethical, almost always bad for the plaintiff, and bad for the plaintiff attorney’s practice. The Rules of Professional Conduct give plaintiffs’ lawyers the weapons to fight back against defendants who insist on overbroad confidentiality agreements.

According to the Insurance Research Council, 32% of all people injured in a motor vehicle crash seek chiropractic care. Despite the Doctors of Chiropractic program being over 4000 hours (similar to that of a Medical Doctorate), lawyers, judges and in some cases jurors demonstrate a clear bias against chiropractic testimony.

In this webinar, lawyer Aaron DeShaw, a former Doctor of Chiropractic, shows you how to work more effectively with chiropractors.

Announcing a new webinar titled Show the Story: Winning with Visual Advocacy based upon the Trial Guides book Show the Story by Robert Bailey and lawyer and law professor William Bailey.

Introducing a new live continuing legal education webinar regarding social media ethics, with John Patzakis of X-1 Discovery on December 5, 2012.

Have you heard about the lawyer who was sanctioned $542,000 for instructing his client to “clean up” his Facebook page? What other ethical traps await lawyers in this new era of social networking and electronic communications?

Social media evidence is relevant to just about any type of civil and criminal case and must be routinely addressed in discovery.

Announcing a Live Medicare CLE webinar featuring Matt Garretson of the Garretson Resolution Group.

Is your firm in compliance with Medicare? The MMSEA (The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007) ensures that Medicare is the secondary payer on settlements involving Medicare eligible claimants.

Many personal injury practices center on soft tissue injuries from car accidents. For many lawyers, these are not particularly valuable cases. But what if you could find objective evidence that some of these cases are worth much more?

In this webinar, Aaron DeShaw discusses new medical imaging that can help you objectively prove serious ligament injuries in the neck that will cause permanent injuries and can only be resolved with costly fixation surgery.

Book Review: Twelve Heroes argues that all humans—including jurors—are "wired" to use stories to make sense of the world around them. But to effectively appeal to jurors’ story sense, attorneys must first understand story structure itself. To that end, Twelve Heroes elucidates the most fundamental components of story such as: heroic story structure and classic story characters and elements like the Hero, the Villain, the Victim, the Mentor, and the Lie.

Trial Guides revolutionized the practice of law by providing you with products that help you win.  In the process, we did away with mind-numbing $500 binder books with expensive annual updates.  

We'd like to completely change everything...again.

Introducing the Trial Guides iPad app.  The app provides a custom made application for lawyers.  It provides an excellent quality reader app for eBooks and eArticles, a video viewer, and a playback system for audio recordings. Every Trial Guides product can now be purchased online with immediate delivery.

The 2013 Trial Guides Litigation Quote Calendar is now available.  

This daily calendar is the result of painstaking work by the Trial Guides staff to bring you the very best advice from every product we carry. We’ve searched every book and video in the Trial Guides library for the best advice from today’s leading experts on litigation, such as Gerry Spence, David Ball, Rick Friedman, and more.

Trial Guides is pleased to distribute the new documentary Hot Coffee about the McDonald's coffee case to the legal community:

Have you ever been burned by jurors who believe the McDonald’s coffee case is proof that you are trying to hit the “lawsuit lottery” with a frivolous lawsuit?

Hot Coffee is an important documentary exposing big businesses’ relentless attack on the jury system. The movie covers how those seeking to deny citizens a right to a fair trial launched the tort reform campaign in the mid-1980s and have continued to spend millions of dollars per year to convince the public that we have out-of-control juries, too many frivolous lawsuits, and a civil justice system that needs reforming.

Take Back the Courtroom II - Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation.

You asked for it and we delivered. Join Trial Guides for an exclusive 2-day live CLE on February 25-26, 2011 featuring trial superstar Rick Friedman. You know him from his best selling books Rules of the Road and Polarizing the Case. Rick has built his career by working his way up from a one person office in remote Alaska to obtaining significant jury verdicts for people in insurance bad faith, personal injury, traumatic brain injury, medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death cases.  This is not a seminar to be missed!

Trial Guides is pleased to announce the pre-order of David Ball on Damages 3.

David Ball on Damages has been America’s best selling text on proving damages since the release of the brilliant first edition in 2001.  The second (red) edition has been one of the best selling books at Trial Guides.

Now, David Ball on Damages 3 teaches you how to integrate the Reptile and Rules of the Road methods, along with new voir dire techniques, into the classic Damages method.

The authors of one of our hottest selling books, Reptile: The Manual to the Plaintiff's Revolution, have both read and reviewed the new edition of Trial Guides' best selling book Rules of the Road:

"It's hard to improve on a masterpiece, but Rick Friedman and Pat Malone did it again. The second edition masterfully provides case examples and practical templates beyond the first edition. It takes all of us to a new level. A must-have and must-read."

-Don Keenan, Trial Lawyer, author of Reptile and Past-President of the Inner Circle of Advocates.

Today's jurors are bombarded with media images of handsome and sexy lawyers, heroically solving crimes and winning in the courtroom. In reality, the courtroom is nothing like TV's "win in a 60-minute episode" format, but your performance can be just as appealing, passionate, and valiant.

From David Ball's theatrical background comes Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials, a practical guide to improve your performance in the courtroom.

Trial Guides is proud to provide an all-star line up for two upcoming live continuing legal education events on how to discredit junk science in court.

• Dorothy Clay Sims is often called the most hated plaintiff lawyer in America for her practice of exposing defense doctors.

Minor Impact Soft Tissue (MIST) cases can be some of the most difficult cases to prove and win. We all know what whiplash is, but can you explain it? Can you explain how a crash causes a muscle strain or ligament sprain, and how the direction and force of the impact can impact your client? Do you really know how the body systems function, and why the junk science doesn't add up?

If you are trying "MIST" cases or if you are settling them, you need all the help you can get. Imagine walking into a settlement conference or a courtroom, armed with solid, irrefutable facts about the seriousness of the plaintiff's condition. Imagine cross examining the defense expert and proving the basis of his opinion to be false. Dr. Arthur Croft's new book, Whiplash and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries can help you do just this.

Trial Guides is proud to announce a new, fully revised and expanded version of its best selling book Rules of the Road by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone.

This best selling text on proving liability has helped lawyers throughout the country win six, seven, and eight figure verdicts. 

In the five years since its release, we've learned invaluable information on the benefits and difficulties of using Rules of the Road in trial. The result is an improved methodology for trying your cases.

Trial Guides #1 book Rules of the Road is now available in a revised and expanded Second Edition.  

Authors Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone significantly revised this groundbreaking work. In addition to revisions throughout the book clarifying concepts in the first edition, Friedman and Malone added six new chapters and three appendices. They cover the differences between rules and principles, how to troubleshoot your rules, and how to fit Rules of the Road™ techniques into your case themes.

The Medical Malpractice Myth, by Tom Baker, Director of the Insurance Law Center at University of Connecticut, disputes common medical malpractice myths (often central to tort reform legislation campaigns) with facts. The book provides research proving the following:

• Medical malpractice is an epidemic and a leading cause of death in the US
• Medical malpractice suits are rare, and are very rarely frivolous
• Malpractice insurance premiums aren't unreasonably high
• Rising insurance costs are not closely related to litigation
• Doctors are not leaving their practices as a result of negligence claims

Trial Guides would like to recognize trial attorney John K. Powers of Powers & Santola in Albany, NY.  John is a longtime Trial Guides customer, with a string of impressive verdicts on behalf of seriously injured people.

As one of the most noted trial consultants in the county, Eric Oliver has spent his career helping lawyers obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts. Eric Oliver's new book, Persuasive Communication, lays out the necessary skills and techniques to teach trial attorneys how to win with jurors, mediators, arbitrators and judges. Eric helps you learn the following skills to win you next case:

Lawyers USA has announced the top ten jury verdicts for 2009 Lawyers USA, with jury verdicts ranging from $60 million to $370 million in damages. The subject matter of the cases varied widely and included; auto accidents, pharmaceutical cases, tobacco suits, medical malpractice, as well as other fields.

Recently, California domestic relations lawyer Rick Friedling reviewed the new Trial Guides book Becoming a Lawyer for Plaintiff magazine in Northern California.

A new version of our popular Colossus Forms CD for doctors is being released today. It is an update to one of Trial Guides' earliest products.

The majority of all auto insurers in the U.S. use computerized assessment software to determine bodily injury settlement offers. Most of them conceal its use or allege they no longer use the software. The most widely used bodily injury claim software is called Colossus, but there are others regularly used by large insurers including Liability Navigator, and ClaimIQ. Colossus and other bodily...

Eric Oliver has consulted trial lawyers for 25 years. The verdict: he knows what wins. Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame member, and Past President of the Inner Circle of Advocates, Paul Luvera, notes "Eric Oliver is the Babe Ruth of legal communications field. I buy, read, and put into action every book he writes and every article he publishes."

Trial Guides is proud to release Eric Oliver's newest book, Persuasive Communication: Twenty-five Years of Teaching Lawyers. This book collects the best of Eric's wisdom, laying out usable techniques and strategies that can be utilized in intake, deposition, mediation, trial and anywhere in between. Each topic the book covers is filled with useful nuggets that can be immediately implemented.

Book Review by Public Adjustor Jonathan F. Sadick, SPPA

A holiday message from David Ball to my friends!

"Pat Malone has written a book that everyone, not just attorneys but everyone, needs to read. It is called The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care and Avoiding the Worst. The title is no exaggeration.

I'm telling you about this book for two reasons: First, I want anyone important to me to have read this book. I'm no great fan of self-help books, but this is a self protection book, and it's essential. If you have children it is more than essential.

The International Brian Injury Association recently released an article by brain injury attorney Dorothy Clay Sims, entitled "An Autopsy on the Fake Bad Scale."

Consider reading the article if you handle any personal injury cases in which your client may have suffered from brain or psychological injuries. In the article, the authors discuss multiple problems with the Fake Bad Scale (FBS, also known as Symptom Validity Scale), a controversial test for measuring malingering.

If you are a professor of trial advocacy, you train the trial lawyers of the future. While many books purport to educate young trial lawyers on trial procedure and trial techniques, few guide law students and new lawyers through the common behavioral and psychological mistakes that can undermine a promising career.

With Becoming a Trial Lawyer, author Rick Friedman has written a book that does both. Friedman, a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, guides future lawyers on their career path, weighing in on the pros and cons of being a trial lawyer, and explaining how to lead a healthy, balanced life in a field where career largely dominates. In addition, the book is filled with tips from Friedman's trial career.

We are proud to release a new CLE video by Aaron Deshaw: a doctor, a lawyer, author of Colossus: What Every Trial Lawyers Needs to Know, and a leading speaker on traumatic brain injuries.

In the Traumatic Injuries DVD, Dr. DeShaw lectures on traumatic brain injuries, inner ear injuries (perilymph fistulas, endolymph hydrops, BPPV), C1 ligament injuries, and Alar and Transverse ligament damages, and how what seems like a simple neck injury can lead to severe symptoms such as blindness or death.

Review of "Becoming a Trial Lawyer" by Howard Nations in AAJ's Trial Magazine:

Trial attorney Rick Friedman’s latest book, On Becoming a Trial Lawyer, offers useful advice to those who wish to pursue success as a trial lawyer without forfeiting a fulfilling life as a family member, friend, and member of society. The book has value for the prospective lawyer as well as the trial attorney who wants to better understand and cope with increased professional and personal pressures.

Obviously not all of your cases go to trial; some are settled in mediation or tried in arbitration. Why would you walk into a mediation or arbitration any less prepared than you would walk into a courthouse?

Attorney Sharon Rowen of Atlanta, GA realized this and prepared for her mediation with trial consultant Eric Oliver, using the techniques in his book Facts Can’t Speak for Themselves. The defense counsel tried to spin Ms. Rowen's personal injury case against a renowned charity as a simple slip and fall. Using Oliver's strategies, which are outlined in Facts, Ms. Rowen was able to reframe the case using Eric Oliver's methods.

Due to Oliver's techniques, Ms. Rowen obtained a very favorable settlement (amount confidential) despite the obvious challenges in her case.

We have all watched clients destroy cases before our eyes in deposition. As a trial lawyer, you know what to expect, but does your client? In Preparing for Deposition, Karen Koehler, co-author of West Law's Litigating Minor Impact Soft Tissue Cases, instructs your client and witnesses on how to testify successfully. Through easy- to-understand and enjoyable-to-watch "Do and Don't" scenarios, Koehler guides your witness out of the pitfalls of a messy deposition.

The DVD is broken down into ten short, essential lessons that all of your witnesses need to know. Preparing for Deposition should be a staple in every attorney's office that you can play over and over again. Help your witnesses help you. Give them the tools to prepare for deposition.

Inner Circle of Advocates member Jim Perdue's second book for trial lawyers, I Remember Atticus: Inspiring Stories Every Trial Lawyer Should Know, reminds you of the qualities of faith, freedom, equality, courage, and perseverance that exemplify the American spirit and embody our justice system.

I Remember Atticus is more than a collection of inspiring stories. It is also an indispensable resource for the trial lawyer seeking more effective persuasion techniques. Perdue gives generously of his wealth of trial experience to show how novices and veterans alike may use our core values for practical advocacy. He does so in a way that entertains, informs, and inspires.

A jury in Dallas County Texas recently returned an $84 million verdict against U-Haul Corporation in a negligence case for failure to inspect, warn of dangers, and repair its trucks. Plaintiff's trial attorneys Marquette Wolf and Ted Lyon of Texas argued the case. 

Attorney Wolf patterned his arguments after the "Reptile" research in David Ball and Don Keenan's newest book, Reptile: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff's Revolution. When used in conjunction with the technique outlined in Rules of the Road, this research has the power to negate tort reform. Wolf suggested to the jury that corporations must follow the rules, and added that corporations know how to be careful, but only choose to do so when protecting their money rather than people.

The Today Show appearance will mark the release of Mr. Malone's newest book, The Life You Save, aimed at preventing medical malpractice for members of the public. The book lists nine necessary steps that will help you take charge of your own health care, make the best choices, avoid serious harm, and get the care you need and deserve. The Life You Save is not only for you and your loved ones, it is a must read for every person who receives medical care or uses prescription pharmaceuticals.

Book Review: Polarizing the Case is a book for trial lawyers written by Richard Friedman, one of the most successful trial lawyers in the United States. But anyone who has ever been a victim of an insurance company’s tactics designed to deny or underpay a legitimate claim might also find it interesting.

I have started going to more seminars, reading more books, watching more video—trying to get beyond "the law" and generic trial techniques, and focusing specifically on how to win plaintiffs’ personal injury trials. It soon became apparent that a new publishing company predominates this niche, publishing and distributing some of today’s most important plaintiffs’ trial materials—Trial Guides.

Trial Guides is proud to announce that one of the nation's leading trial lawyers, Don Keenan, has agreed to join David Ball at Trial Guides' Welcome to the Revolution - Reptile CLE! It will be one of the "must see" CLEs of the year.

If you haven’t heard about David Ball and Don Keenan’s new “Reptile” trial technique, you are missing the most important trial strategy of the year. Together, they have written a masterpiece for plaintiff’s lawyers called REPTILE: The 2009 Manual for the Plaintiff's Revolution. The new method transforms even the worst jurors into your allies. Learn the material first hand at Trial Guides’ Welcome to the Revolution Reptile CLE

Attorney Chris Stombaugh of Wisconsin recently obtained a $7.05 million verdict on a construction site accident verdict in Iowa. He credits a substantial factor of his success to David Ball's "Uber Rule" discussed in his Trial Guides Welcome to the Revolution CLE.

In his own words:

"I listened to your Trial Guides presentation [Welcome to the Revolution].

How can you get great verdicts? By framing your case story to speak to the jurors.

Attorney Michael Doyle of Houston, Texas has obtained a string of consecutive multi-million-dollar verdicts using the techniques outlined in Eric Oliver's Facts Can't Speak for Themselves.

Trial Guides is proud to release all known audio recordings of Moe Levine, one of the greatest trial lawyers in American history.

In this unique CD set, you'll hear Moe Levine's voice as he spoke to trial lawyer organizations in the 1960s and 70s. This CD set is a valuable companion to Moe Levine on Advocacy, Trial Guides' book of Levine's collected lectures and summations. One of the lectures in The Historic Recordings is included in Moe Levine on Advocacy, but the rest are only available on CD. The Historic Recordings together with Moe Levine on Advocacy give you a complete set of all of Levine's material.

After over three years of work, Trial Guides is proud to announce the release of Moe Levine on Advocacy, the most comprehensive book ever released on Levine's lectures, trial transcripts and articles.

Moe Levine practiced in New York in the 1940s to early 1970s, trying over 2000 civil trials.  He was one of the first members of the Inner Circle of Advocates, and was close friends with Inner Circle founder Richard Grand.  He helped create the concept of "qualitative damages" while helping Grand re-frame one of his cases by taking a concept from the Bible and using it as a way to describe the client's loss. (The case is discussed in the book.)

The deposition preparation video is broken down into ten short, essential lessons that all of your witnesses need to know. Preparing for Deposition should be a staple in every attorney's office that you can play over and over again. Help your witnesses help you. Give them the tools to prepare for deposition.

An investigative report published in the New York Times entitled "Exams of Injured Workers Fuels Mutual Mistrust" demonstrates the strong bias of IME doctors working for insurance companies. It could provide excellent ideas for cross-examination of an insurance doctor in your next trial.

In the NY Times article, a New York IME doctor admits, "If you did a truly pure report, you'd be out on your ears and the insurers wouldn't pay for it. You have to give them what they want... That's the game, baby."

In Winning with Stories, trial lawyer Jim Perdue analyzes narrative elements in detail, showing how to craft a story with a strong beginning, memorable scenes, believable characters, a logical plot, vivid action, and a moving conclusion. Beyond this, Perdue demonstrates how to tell the story to maximum effect, with concepts as broad as giving soul to the story, and as specific as what the speaker should wear.

The largest legal settlement in American history resulted in an estimated $300 billion payout from tobacco companies to state governments, including an additional $50 billion in punitive damages. The lead trial attorney from Washington state was Inner Circle Member Paul Luvera. He was chosen to represent the State of Washington due to a career of multi-million dollar verdicts in several states including a $44 million verdict in Washington, a $29 million verdict in Oregon, and a $20 million verdict in Idaho.

Learn from Luvera's unique wisdom with Trial Guides' Paul Luvera on Trial Strategy. This four-DVD set covers techniques on discovery and trial preparation, jury selection, opening statements, capturing jury interest in direct examination, cross-examination, and closing statements.

We wanted to share a recent customer success story using Eric Oliver's Facts Can't Speak for Themselves:

"When the helicopter company thought they had gotten rid of all their bad facts by stipulating to liability for a crash that all the passengers survived after several hours in the water offshore, Eric helped pinpoint the facts and underlying story that put the defendant back in the spotlight. The defendant thought it was going to be all about "jackpot justice" and a "mountain out of a molehill" for a plaintiff who was barely started in offshore work before the crash and had even been released for work by his own doctor more than almost two years before trial. The final verdict of $2.1 million was almost three times the "best ever" pretrial offer, and many times more than any other passenger had settled for their case. "

Trial Guides introduces Error Odds: Exposing the Lack of Accuracy in Malingering Tests, a continuing legal education webinar recording featuring Dr. Michael D. Freeman, Ph.D., MPH, D.C.

Your client is hurt, but the defense claims that his/her injury could not have resulted from the impact—that your client is malingering. Sound familiar? Join Dr. Michael D. Freeman, noted doctor, expert witness and author of Litigating Minor Soft Tissue Impact Cases for this CLE course on the Error Odds test and the lack of accuracy in malingering tests.

We are pleased to present an intensive two-day seminar on handling motor vehicle cases with Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq.  DeShaw is the author of the authoritative text on Colossus, the computer program used by most auto insurance companies to evaluate bodily injury claims. He has individually, and in cooperation with other law firms, obtained settlements and verdicts for clients of over $400 million. DeShaw rarely lectures, and this intensive seminar is his first in four years.

DeShaw will discuss how to handle your motor vehicle cases in a way that will obtain the best possible outcomes in settlement negotiations, and in trial. He will discuss how claims are segmented at major auto insurers into five types of claims, and how to best handle each of these types of claims.

Since mid-2006, David Ball and three of America's top trial attorneys; Atlanta's Don Keenan, Kentucky's Gary Johnson, and Wyoming's Jim Fitzgerald; have been conducting a unique series of deep-research jury sessions across the country. The results have surpassed the team's most optimistic hopes, and will revolutionize the legal field's understanding of juror decision-making. They are working on a new book including this content tentatively called Reptile: Welcome to the Plaintiff's Revolution.  Without throwing out the tried-and-true David Ball on Damages methodology or any of a number of other effective approaches, the new methods transform even the worst of jurors into your allies. The playing field remains as steeply tilted as ever; but now the tilt is in our favor.

The results of the 2006-08 research mean that the long courtroom nightmare of "tort-reform" is finally ending. If you think this is an exaggeration, you have not yet learned the new approach.

Trial Guides is proud to announce the launch of the "Rules of the Road Online Forum" only available to purchasers of Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone's book Rules of the Road.

Rules of the Road, has become the best selling book for plaintiff lawyers on proving liability in personal injury cases and insurance bad faith cases. The forum provides a moderated list server for plaintiff lawyers who want to discuss how to best use Rules of the Road in their cases.

A New Mexico Judge has found Allstate Insurance Company guilty of malicious abuse of process. The finding was in, Martinez et. al. v. Allstate Insurance Company, No. D-0101-CV-200400963 filed in the First Judicial District Court (County of Santa Fe) in New Mexico. During the bench ruling The Honorable Barbara J. Vigil stated:

***

If you are a lawyer interested in bringing abuse of process claims against Allstate or other insurers for the intentional denial, delay or requirement to litigate claims, read From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves. The book gives you an outline of how insurers profit by improperly forcing claimants to file litigation to get fair compensation.

In his book Polarizing the Case, Rick Friedman teaches us not to fear allegations or insinuations that our client is malingering or exaggerating injuries. Instead he provides, in his own words, "a guidebook for wrapping the malingering defense around the neck of the defense lawyer and strangling him with it."

Here is what one young lawyer did with his copy of Polarizing the Case:

Trial Guides is proud to announce the "David Ball on Damages" Legal Forum. 

This forum will allow Trial Guides customers to interact with trial consultants David Ball, Debra Miller, and Artemis Malekpour, as well as other members to obtain insights on using the methods in David Ball on Damages.  

Also discussed are the new methods discussed in David Ball's recent "Welcome to the Revolution" webinars and his forthcoming book Reptile with Don Keenan.

Trial Guides is now distributing "Closing Statements in Child Injury and Child Wrongful Death Cases Volume 2."

This book is a “must have” for any lawyer representing injured children. This book is a compilation of closing statements in child injury and wrongful death cases by 15 of the nation's best personal injury lawyers. Each lawyer is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization comprised of the 100 best plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States. Most of the closing statements in this book came from cases in which the jury returned verdicts in excess of $1,000,000. The following trial lawyers who contributed to this text:

Trial Guides is proud to announce David Ball’s new Focus Groups DVD set.

David Ball and his partners Debra Miller and Artemis Malekpour explain and show you, step-by-step, how to set up, conduct, and analyze your own high quality focus jury research. Uniquely, they even provide clear instructions for how you can apply the focus jurors’ responses to your case. This will keep you from misinterpreting the results, and will help you maximize the value of the research even beyond what many jury consultants normally provide.

Introducing a webinar CLE recording "Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: Allstate, McKinsey and the Enron Business Model" featuring speakers David Berardinelli & Amy Bach.

From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves is the most talked about legal text in the last generation. It's received feature stories on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, as well as in BusinessWeek and Money.

Now get the background about why settlement offers are down. Why insurers spend more to defend claims than to resolve them, and drag litigation out as long as possible. It's time that every lawyer understand the "Deny-Defend-Delay" strategy being used by insurers.

Trial Guides is proud to announce Eric Oliver's Facts Can't Speak for Themselves on Audiobook.  This audiobook is an unabridged reading of the book by Eric Oliver himself.  This is a 16 CD set.

About the audiobook:

Legal decision-makers construct their own version of the case story when they judge a case. In fact, they re-author their own version several times before arriving at the one they use to decide the case.

Paul Luvera has obtained a $40 million verdict in Washington, $44 million in Oregon, $29 million in Idaho, as well as dozens of multi-million settlements, including one for $75 million. He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and the Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame.

Trial Guides is honored to announce the release of Paul Luvera on Trial Strategy, a four-DVD set, capturing his acclaimed lecture at the Fairmont Hotel in Seattle.

Trial Guides is pleased to present an intensive two-day seminar on handling motor vehicle cases with Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq.

The seminar will cover advanced topics in how to handle motor vehicle cases in a modern insurance environment. As author of the definitive text on Colossus, DeShaw will discuss how claims are segmented at auto insurers, and how each of these claims is handled.

Credit Damages is a relatively understated field of damage compensation that will help you determine and receive the full extent of damages the plaintiff suffered - far beyond simple medical bills and wage loss. It will help you consider credit damage in terms of economic damages and non-economic damages caused by the damage to the client's credit.

Georg Finder is a specialized expert in Credit Damages, with over 15 year of experience, teaching, and testifying. He has written a number of books on the topic, including his latest work Credit Damage, Evaluation and Compensation.

Introducing a webinar CLE recording "Credit Damages: More Accurate Compensation" featuring speakers Geog Finder.

If you are familiar with the tactics outlined in David Ball on Damages and use the information regularly, you won't want to miss this cutting edge presentation on credit damages. Credit damages is a relatively understated field of damage compensation that will help you determine and receive the full extent of damages the plaintiff suffered—far beyond simple medical bills and wage loss.

Rick Friedman's Take Back the Courtroom I

Rick has tried plaintiff’s cases to eight figure verdicts in jurisdictions throughout the U.S.  In this seminar, Rick will expand on the proven strategies and approaches described in his books, and will share insights and tips better suited to a live audience than to the written page. 

Rick’s love of trials, his affection and enthusiasm for trial lawyers, and his desire to elevate the practice, are real and infectious.  You will leave this seminar with new knowledge, fresh energy and an arsenal of proven approaches to re-make and re-tool your trials and your practice.

Rick Friedman is widely respected as one of the top trial lawyers in the country. He is the author of two best selling legal books; Rules of the Road (Trial Guides, 2006), and Polarizing the Case (Trial Guides, 2007). Now, for the first time, Rick Friedman will present an intensive two day seminar revealing the secrets of his trial verdicts.

Many trial attorneys are acquainted with the idea of a case theme. Certainly all trial lawyers know the critical importance of establishing and reinforcing the strongest possible theme for your case story.

In this webinar learn from Eric Oliver, a national expert in persuasive legal communication and author of Facts Can’t Speak for Themselves, how to use a focus group to uncover the most effective theme for any case story.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) has named the Top 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America.  In doing so, it cites Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves and articles arising from publicity around that book as the basis for naming Allstate the #1 worst insurer in America.

The 29 page report has a section for each of the ten worst insurers.  The section on Allstate notes at footnote 11 "There is no better analysis of [Allstate's] McKinsey documents than the book, 'From Good Hands’ to Boxing Gloves,' by David Berardinelli, Michael Freeman, and Aaron DeShaw.  Many of AAJ's citations to articles about Allstate's institutional "Deny, Delay, Defend" policy cite the book as the authoritative source on Allstate's policies and procedures as well as the way they have impacted the rest of the insurance industry.  These include the feature articles by BusinessWeek, Money magazine, CNN and others.

The American Society of Trial Consultants recently held a poll of their members on the subject of case themes. The poll asked: “What written work—books or articles—do you most often recommend to your trial lawyer clients to better aid them in constructing and delivering a case theme?”

The one source which professional counseling attorneys across the country listed more than any other, on the subject of persuasive themes and case delivery, was Facts Can't Speak for Themselves, by Eric Oliver.

Rules of the Road is the nation's best selling book for lawyers on proving liability. Lawyers regularly let us know how well it works. The following is one story we recently received:

"If you read no other book, Rick Friedman's Rules of the Road, is mandatory reading. I would suggest you read it prior to conducting discovery.

Rules of the Road is the nation's best selling book on proving liability. Lawyers regularly let us know how well it works. The following is one customer success story we recently received:

"If you read no other book, Rick Friedman's Rules of the Road, is mandatory reading. I would suggest you read it prior to conducting discovery.

This week, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced that he is suspending Allstate Insurance companies from writing new insurance in Florida. McCarty's choice follows Allstate's refusal to comply with subpoenas served October 16 by the Office of Insurance Regulation.

The subpoenas seek disclosure of the McKinsey Documents, in which McKinsey & Co. instructed Allstate how to systematically underpay claims starting in the mid 1990s. The content of the documents is so explosive that Allstate has already ignored a $25,000 per day fine in Missouri for its ongoing failure to provide the McKinsey Documents in that state.

With Rules of the Road™, Rick Friedman (with co-author Patrick Malone) changed the way thousands of plaintiff's lawyers try their cases. In the process, he established himself as one of the nation's leading tacticians in the battle for civil justice.

With Polarizing the Case, Friedman teaches us not to fear allegations or insinuations that our client is malingering or exaggerating injuries. Instead he provides, in his own words, "a guidebook for wrapping the malingering defense around the defense lawyer's neck and strangling him with it."

Trial Guides' Apple Podcast now features introductions to six of our best selling titles.  By subscribing to our free podcast, you will stay up-to-date on all the latest iWin™ Media releases from Trial Guides. It’s easy, convenient, and best of all free!

These introductions are read by internationally recognized voice and film actress October Moore.

Subscribe to podcast: Trial Guides Apple Podcast

The following is a review by Doctor and Epidemiologist Dr. Arthur Croft of the Trial Guides book Polarizing the Case.

The legal corner today is a book report. Rick Friedman is the author of some best-selling law books, including Rules of the Road and, the one in my hand: Polarizing the Case: Exposing & Defeating the Malingering Myth. These books are published by Trial Guides (www.trialguides.com).

"An epidemiologist testified Tuesday that assumptions in an Allstate claims handling manual about how much force passengers endure in low-speed wrecks have no scientific basis.

“These numbers are impossible, and they are just made up,” said Michael Freeman, an epidemiologist at Oregon Health and Science University testifying in the second day of a $1.425 billion civil trial in Fayette Circuit Court challenging Allstate Insurance Co.’s claims handling practices."

The following article is published in Bloomberg Markets [Since removed from the internet] It provides one of the most comprehensive public media stories covering the serious problems in the insurance industry in America caused by programs of defense, delay and denial of claims.

The Insurance Hoax

By David Dietz and Darrell Preston

Julie Tunnell remembers standing in her debris-strewn driveway when the tall man in blue jeans approached. Her northern San Diego tudor-style home had been incinerated a week earlier in the largest wildfire in California history. The blaze in October and November 2003 swept across an area 19 times the size of Manhattan, destroying 2,232 homes and killing 15 people. Now came another blow.

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) is offering a seminar based on the Trial Guides' best selling book Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone.

Here are a few words on the upcoming CLE from leading trial consultant David Ball:

The following is a post by PBS regarding its investigation into insurance claim denials and underpayments in the United States [since removed from the internet]. The story cites Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves. It is accompanied by a video "Home Insurance 9-1-1" [which has also since been removed from the internet]:

In the fall of 2003, one of the largest recorded wildfires in California's history destroyed over 2,200 houses and killed fifteen people. Soon after, many who'd lost their homes had a rude awakening: their insurance did not nearly cover their losses as expected.

About The Rules of the Road CLE Program

This new seminar, based on the acclaimed book Rules of the Road: A Plaintiff Lawyer's Guide to Proving Liability by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone, is essential for plaintiff lawyers who deal with insurance companies that routinely delay and deny meritorious claims.

Learn from one of the authors and trial lawyers who have applied the teachings in Rules of the Road as they share their secrets of trying complex cases to a jury--from the pleading through discovery and trial. This program will arm plaintiff lawyers with proven techniques to overcome the complexity, confusion and ambiguity that are the hallmark weapons of most defense strategies.

Trial Guides, in cooperation with NITA, brings you Winning Jury Trials: Trial Tactics and Sponsorship Strategy by Robert Klonoff & Paul Colby.

Winning Jury Trials covers a broad spectrum of issues likely to confront the advocate every day, and provides a "default position" on how to resolve most tactical issues arising at trial. Winning Jury Trials covers such topics as:

Think You're Insured? Maybe Not.

That is the title of a new article by CNN Money magazine discussing insurance claim practices. The basis for the article is Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.  

CNN has released a new expose on the insurance claims handling by State Farm and Allstate, titled "Auto Insurers Play Hardball in Minor-Crash Claims. The article covers the topic in Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

The beginning of the article notes:

"If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.

Below is a Transcript of CNN’s Expose on Allstate and State Farm [since removed from CNN and all web video services.] Wed., Feb. 7, 2007

Insurance companies fight paying billions in claims

"ANDERSON COOPER: Traffic accidents, of course, are a fact of life. So is dealing with insurance companies. You pay them to protect you. That’s the idea. But some accident victims say they’re being forced to settle or go to court because
the claims are denied.

We wanted to know the facts, and in a CNN investigation, we looked into
whether some big name insurers are more interested in profit than
policyholders..."

Trial Guides is proud to release an audiobook of its best selling legal text - Rules of the Road.  The book is the best selling book for lawyers on proving liability.  

Rules of the Road co-authors, Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone, entered a recording studio with Trial Guides audio engineer Josh Derry to record the audiobook over four days.  The audiobook CD set is an unabridged reading of the book.

Trial Guides is happy to announce a new distribution deal with NITA allowing us to bring several books by leading trial consultants David Ball and Eric Oliver to Trial Guides customers.

How to Do Your Own Focus Groups is easy-to-follow book, written by leading jury consultant and best-selling trial advocacy author David Ball.  The book shows you how to organize and direct your own focus groups from deciding what kind of focus group best fits your case, to selecting the focus-jurors, to analyzing your conclusions. The book is designed so that attorneys can easily start conducting their own focus groups and it also contains information about hiring trial consultants to run them for you.

We recently received the following lawyer success story using Rules of the Road:

"I recently tried a bad faith case here in Kentucky that was supposed to be a very conservative jurisdiction. The judge, as well as everyone else, warned me not to turn down the offer of $300,000. We did, and the verdict was $755,000 plus $195,000 to be added for attorneys fees. Not a big verdict for California, but very respectable for here.

We recently received the following lawyer success story using the methods in David Ball on Damages.

"Sussex County is rural and is arguably one of the most conservative counties in N.J.. Last night at 6pm following an 8 day trial and a 3 hour deliberation, the Sussex County Jury returned a verdict of $1.25m! This represents one of the largest personal injury verdicts in county history and will be front page news tomorrow. Our client Jill Yucius (age 27) sustained an injury to her low back requiring fusion surgery and sustained an injury to her shoulder requiring arthroscopic surgery following an auto accident. The defense attorney had valued the case at less than $200,000...

Trial Guides received the following customer success story from David Ball.

"I just wanted to follow up with you regarding the method described in your book, CDs and seminars on Damages. Thank you for your help.

When I went to the ATLA Damages College I had already read your book on Damages, and listened to your CD. I was comfortable with your method and was looking to refine my skills. The case I worked on at the ATLA Damages seminar was a dental malpractice case where an oral surgeon severed my client's lingual nerve while extracting a lower wisdom tooth, leaving half of his tongue permanently numb.

We recently received the following lawyer success story using the information in From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves - How Allstate Changed Casualty Insurance in America.

“David Berardinelli's book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves is an essential tool for any trial lawyer handling bad faith claims against Allstate. The book details how Allstate redesigned its claims handling process to offer policyholders a very simple choice: accept less than fair value for your claims or face a battery of lawyers and years of costly litigation.

Trial Guides is proud to release a new CD / DVD set featuring trial consultant David Ball and trial lawyer Gary C. Johnson titled Winning the Unwinnable Case.

From David Ball's intro to this disc set:

This DVD is about the inspiring story of how one of America's best trial attorneys, Kentucky's Gary C. Johnson, prevailed in a nearly impossible case. This discussion's original purpose was to help other attorneys see how to deal with some of the most common problems encountered in nearly every personal injury case. But, the discussion turned out to be more. One of the most inspiring stories behind a trial you have ever heard. You will find yourself playing this discussion over and over, before every difficult trial you ever face.

Trial Guides is proud to announce the release of the new Rick Friedman video Winning Trial Strategies: Framing Issues and Attitudes for Trial.

In this video, Rick Friedman, one of America's leading trial lawyers, provides you with the keys to winning trials in a time of overwhelming jury bias. First, he helps you consider your theme and strategy for trial using his Rules of the Road technique, and teaches you how to use it from the pleading through discovery and trial. Next, he moves to defeating the malingering defense...

We are pleased to announce the release of David Ball on Damages in an Audiobook CD set.

When David Ball on Damages was first published in 2001, it changed the way attorneys seek damages. The audio CD set, also available as a book, provides step-by-step guidance for attorneys seeking money for their clients. Ball explains why jurors give, why they do not, and how to motivate them to do the former instead of the latter. He walks readers through voir dire, opening, Direct examination, and closing.  In each phase of the case this set provides practical, effective, and innovative methods for pursuing damages.

Eugene Anderson is a pioneer in the field of insurance law, and and is an icon in the field of insurance law.  He is the founding member of Anderson Kill, arguably the leading insurance coverage law firm in the United States.  Gene has written several legal treatises and legal journal articles on insurance, including Insurance Coverage Litigation, the ABA Manual for Complex Insurance Coverage Litigation, and more. Some even say that Anderson's career fighting insurers was the inspiration for John Grisham’s The Rainmaker. 

So, we are pleased to announce that Mr. Anderson has agreed to write the introduction to Trial Guides' upcoming book “From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.”  

Here is his introduction:

If you face tort reform, or non-economic caps in your state, you need “The Medical Malpractice Myth.” Author Tom Baker, widely recognized as a leading expert on insurance law, dispels myths regarding: 

• the amount of malpractice litigation occurring; 
• the amount of malpractice verdicts; 
• the frivolous nature of these claims; and 
• doctors fleeing states without caps.

Today the Chicago Tribune featured Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves in and article titled "Author throws punch at Allstate."

“Allstate Corp., fresh from fending off criticism about its response to policyholders affected by Hurricane Katrina, faces another potential storm, this one from an author [David J. Berardinelli] who claims the insurer is forcing policyholders to accept prompt but lower payouts or risk time-consuming and expensive litigation...The book [tells how and why] the nation´s second-largest home and auto insurer treats some policyholders with ‘boxing gloves’ during their time of financial and personal duress, rather than the reassuringly familiar “good hands” highlighted in its advertising.”

A new article by BusinessWeek titled "In Tough Hands at Allstate"

The article notes that From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves "tells the story of the key role played by management consultant McKinsey & Co. in reengineering auto insurance claims operations at Allstate Corp. (ALL ) -- and it's a story Allstate doesn't want told."

Trial Guides is proud to provide Jim Perdue's Who Will Speak for the Victim to its customers.  The book has often been out of print, and difficult to obtain, but is in stock at Trial Guides. 

Who Will Speak for the Victim is a practical book for practicing lawyers. Special chapters address methods of arguing liability and damages in various types of personal injury cases, emphasizing the most effective approaches to relating the evidence and argument to the specific questions the jury must answer.

Gerry Spence is America's most renowned and successful trial lawyer, a man known for his deep convictions and his powerful courtroom presentations when he argues on behalf of ordinary people. Frequently pitted against teams of lawyers thrown against him by major corporate or government interests, he has never lost a criminal case and has not lost a civil jury trial since 1969.

Trial Guides is now distributing three of his books and one audiobook CD set.  

Trial Guides is now distributing "Closing Statements in Child Injury and Death Cases."

This book is a “must have” for any lawyer representing injured children. This book is a compilation of closing statements in child injury and wrongful death cases by 23 of the nation's Top Personal Injury Lawyers. Each lawyer is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an organization comprised of the 100 best plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States. Most of the closing statements in this book came from cases in which the jury returned verdicts in excess of $1,000,000.

Nearly 70% of auto accident cases in the U.S. are evaluated by bodily injury claims assessment software.

Now there is a guide that helps you and your clients - triggering thousands of "value drivers," and helping you ethically maximize settlement offers based upon the facts of your clients' cases.

Trial Guides authors David Berardinelli and Aaron DeShaw are being interviewed by Turner Network for CNN and Money Magazine regarding Allstate Insurance's claim handling method called Claims Core Process Redesign ("CCPR").  

New Mexico lawyer, David Berardinelli, is the primary author of Trial Guides' upcoming book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

More reviews are coming in for Trial Guides new book Rules of the Road by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone.

“Friedman and Malone have given trial lawyers a road map to success.  It make the reader re-evaluate how a case should be prepared and triad, and emphasizes how the trial begins in discovery.  The book helps make complete lawyers even better and, believe me, these authors are complete lawyers.”

Stuart Z. Grossman - named Florida Trial Lawyer of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates, and member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers

With the release of the new book Rules of the Road, Trial Guides starts its relationship with Amazon.com.  Only certain books by Trial Guides will released on Amazon, with the full library only being sold on the Trial Guides web site.

View the new Trial Guides page on Amazon.com

View the Trial Guides product catalog on Amazon.com

Trial Guides has received reviews from two of the Inner Circle of Advocates for the new book by Rick Friedman and Patrick Malone entitled Rules of the Road.

“Two preeminent trial lawyers share their powerful insights and practical techniques in a lively and rewarding guide through case analysis, discovery and trial.  This essential source is packed with valuable advice and lucid examples certain to help win the difficult liability case.”

Michael Koskoff – Member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, and listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America

Buy your copy of Rules of the Road today.

Trial Guides is pleased to announce that Washington DC lawyer Patrick Malone has become the company's next author, as a co-author of Rick Friedman's upcoming book Rules of the Road.

Patrick Malone is one of the leading attorneys in the eastern United States who represents victims of serious personal injuries against drug manufacturers, hospitals and others in the medical industry.

Article in Chiropractic Economics:

An Excerpt from Billing and Procedure Denials: What Every Physician Needs to Know, by Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq.

"Have you ever played a game without knowing the rules? It’s difficult to win. Over the last 10 years, chiropractors have been playing a “game” with personal-injury insurers without knowing the rules.

Sometimes they win and get paid for their personal-injury (PI) and healthcare claims; sometimes they lose.

Book Review by Chiropractic Economics:

Colossus: What Every Physician Needs to Know
by Aaron DeShaw, DC, JD. Loose leaf, 465 pages.

According to the author, approximately 70 percent of auto injuries are evaluated by computer assessment software. The best known assessment software is known as Colossus.

Nationally prominent bad faith trial lawyer Rick Friedman has agreed to a multi-book, video, and audio CD series for personal injury and bad faith lawyers. 

Rick Friedman has been called the insurance industries' worst nightmare. His successful career has been distinguished by multi-million dollar verdicts and precedent-setting case law. Among many of his landmark cases are the $152 million awarded to a State Farm agent in Bellott v. State Farm, $84 million awarded to a disabled doctor in Ceimo v. Paul Revere, and $16.5 million awarded to a disabled worker in Ace v. Aetna Life Insurance Company. His verdicts to date total over $300 million. Friedman is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group that limits its membership to 100 of the leading trial lawyers in the country.

"Allstate Insurance Co. is engaging in a systematic and fraudulent scheme to make obtaining fair offers for damage claims so difficult that victims accept low offers rather than pursue costly and time-consuming litigation, attorneys for a Richmond woman argued yesterday in Fayette Circuit Court..."

Trial Guides is proud to announce its new book Procedure & Billing Denials: What Every Physician Needs to Know by Dr. Aaron DeShaw, Esq. 

The new book provides physicians & staff with the background necessary when dealing with a modern insurance company on a personal injury case. DeShaw describes procedures and codes frequently flagged by insurers, and insurance medical bill review software. The book also discusses coding methods and procedures which are flagged for audits, or rejected. DeShaw further discusses modern necessity for charting to substantiate treatment and reduce payment problems.

A new legal Colossus forms CD is released today, to supplement the new book Colossus: What Every Trial Lawyer Needs to Know.

The Colossus Forms CD provides lawyers with the legal forms necessary when dealing with modern insurance companies on personal injury cases.

A new physician forms CD is released today, to supplement the new edition of Colossus: What Every Physician Needs to Know.

Approximately 70 percent of all auto insurers in the U.S. use bodily injury assessment software to determine claim value. Most of them conceal its use. The most widely used bodily injury claim software is called Colossus, but there are others also used by large insurers including Claims Outcome Advisor.  Bodily injury assessment programs require specific information in order to generate claim value in a patient’s case.  And often they use different terminology from treating doctors.  The difference in terminology between health care professionals and the insurance industry can result in improperly low settlement offers to injured people.

Colossus: What Every Physician Needs to Know is the definitive resource for doctors who handle personal injury cases on the insurance claims process involving their patients.  

The book provides physicians clear guidance on dealing with personal injury cases that will be analyzed by claims assessment software including Colossus.

Presently, nearly 70% of auto accident cases in the U.S. are evaluated by claims assessment software. The book provides physicians an insider’s view of the medical and legal defects in the programs used by 16 of the Top 20 auto insurance companies in the US.