News — Keith Mitnik

Reviewed by Ada K. Wong  Originally published in the April 2022 edition of Trial News, a monthly publication from the Washington State Association for Justice.  After a good series finale, you hold on to the hope that the producers will revive the show even though the series stands on its own. That is how I felt after reading Keith Mitnik’s Don’t Eat the Bruises a few years ago – wondering and hoping that he will author another great book. Like any great producer, he came out with another hit: Deeper Cuts. This book is meant to build on the foundation of Don’t Eat the Bruises, so...

Reviewed by Ezra Smith  Originally published in the Spring 2022 issue of ATLA Docket, a quarterly publication from the Arkansas Trial Lawyer Association.  Deeper Cuts is broken down into five sections. Part One: “Wisdom of the Whys” covers an introductory sweep across any “dos and don'ts” for trial lawyers. This section focuses a lot on language and ways attorneys can and should rethink the essential facts of their case. Part Two: “Powerful New Trial Tools” covers many parts of a trial. I found its examples and sections comparing potential verbiage to be extremely helpful and illustrative. The examples can be long, but they...

Congratulations to trial lawyers Randy and Alex Sorrels, of Sorrels Law in Houston, Texas, for their recent $352.7 million verdict! The Sorrels credited lessons learned from Don’t Eat the Bruises, Rules of the Road, Polarizing the Case, and Damages 3 for helping them reach this ideal outcome for their clients. The Sorrels were kind enough to share a few details from the case, in which they represented the plaintiffs. In September 2019, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, a third-party fueling company failed to stop and yield and collided with a United Airlines tarmac worker. Witnesses testified that his body bounced several...

Lori Tolle is a former Deputy District Attorney for Jefferson County, Colorado. She was at the DA’s office for ten years, five of which she spent in the Crimes Against Children unit. After taking a break from lawyering from 2011 to 2019 to spend time with her kids, she returned to practice in 2019 as a plaintiff's attorney at the office of Fuicelli & Lee. On the recommendation of Keith Fuicelli, Lori began consuming content by Keith Mitnik and Nick Rowley. Here is what happened: From my initial entry into civil practice, Keith Fuicelli sang Keith Mitnik's praises (as well as...

Congratulations to attorneys Rich Cook, Bryan Tisch, and Brandon Yosha on their recent $12.2 million verdict in Indianapolis, Indiana. Brandon Yosha covered the opening statement, the final argument on damages, and did the direct examination of the plaintiff’s wife. Brandon’s father, trial lawyer Louis Yosha, helped formulate the argument Brandon used in closing. Bryan Tisch covered the opening statement on liability, the plaintiff’s direct examination, and the expert witness’s direct examination. Rich Cook handled voir dire, the cross-examination of all of IPL’s witnesses, and the final argument on liability. The plaintiff is currently forty-six years old and has been under...

Written by David Rosenthal, CCTLA First Vice President Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of The Litigator, a quarterly magazine from the Capitol City Trial Lawyers Association. When it comes to learning to be a trial lawyer, nothing is more valuable than actually trying cases. But sometimes, for instance during a pandemic, it’s all but impossible to get in front of a jury to try a case or even to attend a trial skills seminar. In these times, learning trial skills is more about reading some of the many good practice guide books or attending virtual seminars. There are too...

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.

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.

Don’t Eat the Bruises: How to Foil Their Plans to Spoil Your Case Having a mentor is critical to a young lawyer’s development and growth. Throughout my 18 year career, I have been fortunate to learn from one of the best lawyers in the business-Ric Domnitz. While I will never be able to deliver a summation as effectively as Ric; nor cross-examine a witness as well-nor handle any aspect of the litigation process as well as Ric, for that matter-I have learned a lot from Ric about interacting with people and becoming an effective advocate at every stage of the personal injury...

Keith Mitnik, author of Trial Guides bestselling book, Don’t Eat the Bruises,recently obtained an $8 million verdict in a car crash case resulting in a herniated disc, in which $7.5 million were for noneconomic/general damages.Keith explained how the systems in his book paved the way for this greatverdict: “The venue was conservative, so I leaned heavily on the voir dire systemswhich allowed us to eliminate a bunch of biased panelists and get a fair jury.The defense was relying on their standard arguments that our client’s problemseither preexisted or were being exaggerated. They also accused her ofcovering up significant prior injury...

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.

Trial Guides congratulates Indiana attorney Michael J. Stapleton for his recent success in obtaining a $10 million verdict for his client, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after being attacked in the parking lot of a local bar. Stapleton credited the lessons he learned from Keith Mitnik’s Don’t Eat the Bruises for the outcome: “I have been a trial lawyer for over forty years. For the past fifteen, I’ve used an outline for jury selection I have developed, and enjoyed, that employs many principles from David Ball and Reptile. Earlier this year, a trusted trial consultant insisted I read Keith...

Keith Mitnik, senior trial counsel at Morgan & Morgan and author of Don’t Eat the Bruises, recently obtained a $6.4 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds on behalf of the family of a Florida man who died in 2010 from emphysema. Mitnik argued that Reynolds had profited from his deceased client’s addiction and was at fault for the nicotine dependency that led to his client’s untimely death. “Nothing that happened from this time period we’re talking about, and happened to [my client], happened by accident,” Mitnik asserted in court. “It was engineered for at the highest level. It was studied at the highest level....