Offers of Settlement

Rule 408 of the Rules of Evidence generally prohibits the use of offers of settlements from being admissible in trial.  This is particularly true in domestic cases where offers of any kind involving custody, support, etc. must be reduced to writing and approved by the court to be enforceable.  As with all rules, there are exceptions.  The rule only deals with this evidence being used to prove the validity of a claim.  Evidence obtained in the course of settlement negotiations or mediation may still be used however to show bias, fraud, etc.  As such, one cannot get too relaxed in settlement negotiations. 

Working Both Sides

The more I practice, the more I have learned that a case cannot be prepared properly without working up both sides of the case (i.e figure out what you would argue if you were the opposing party).  Any case that does not settle that goes to either the judge or jury has warts on both sides.  If you figure out what the warts are on your side, witnesses can be prepared for it and evidence can be used to minimize it. 

Book of Interest

I received a good book in the mail yesterday from Amazon called The Trial Masters:  A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics That Win Cases.  It is an older book with lots of good practical advice from what I have read so far.  You can get a copy on Amazon for only a few dollars and the book itself is close to 600 pages.  It is a large collection of articles by some of the best historical trial lawyers in the country.  From just skimming through the parts I have not read yet, this may be one of the most practical books in my library. 

Arguing in Reverse

Arguing in reverse is a concept that I have picked up on from several older attorneys which is very effective.  Essentially, you take you opponents position in a case and starting arguing what is wrong with their position first and then argue why yours is correct.  This is very effective in motion practice I have noticed. 

Notice of Documents and Hearsay Exceptions

I tend to pick up random items of helpful litigation information from a variety of sources.  Litigation is largely a battle of competing ideas.  An attorney I am litigating a case against now developed some useful ideas on hearsay and documents that are hearsay exceptions.  I did not have any objection to the documents he presented but it did give me some ideas.  The idea is to provide notice in the ligation file of certain documents that will be offered as evidence subject to various hearsay exceptions (i.e. learned treatises, market reports, etc.).  After that, a timely motion can be made to get a preliminary ruling on their admissibility after reasonable notice.  This is a great idea which can prevent later objections that could not be cleared up at the spur of the moment in trial. 

Virtual Tour

Visualizing a home or an accident scene is often the key to a case.  With Google Earth, it is pretty easy to take a virtual look at an accident scene.  It is not that hard to also do one with a home using virtual tour programs similar to that realtors use.  This could be a good option to help explain how something happened and potentially a way to show that one home is more fit than another in a custody case.

Blog of Interest

Before trial, I often set up a "war room" to prepare, go through exhibits, etc.  Here is a helpful blog I located with lots of good ideas.