Melanie Balestro’s Post

My book "Winning Your Jury" and the accompanying Master Class are finally available! "Whether you’re a trial attorney with jury experience, just starting out in a career of being a litigation attorney, or even a law student who wants to acquire the skills of an experienced trial attorney, ""Winning Your Jury"" the book and educational courses will teach you to: * Learn the psychology of how juries decide cases so you can spot the ideal juror for your case * Identify the ideal personality traits for the kind of case you are trying * Prepare the appropriate voir dire questions to identify your ideal juror * Learn all aspects of litigating jury trials. Learn more at kleinonlitigation.com "'Winning The Jury' is the most comprehensive real-world overview of the litigation process, jury behavior, and attorney strategies that I’ve seen. It will be helpful and engrossing, not only to litigators and other attorneys but to their clients, experts like me, and anyone wanting to better understand the process and strategies.” — Karl J. Schulze, CPA, CVA, CFE, CFF Schulze Haynes Loevenguth & Co. Los Angeles"

📢 As a new legal term commences, why not make a commitment to take on some pro bono work before the end of the year? If you complete 25 hours or more pro bono work in this calendar year, you can appear on the next Pro Bono Recognition List of England & Wales! 🌟 Find out more about the Recognition List and see how Advocate can support you: https://bit.ly/3UirYt5

Meet Tiega Varlack - Secretary! What inspired you to pursue a career in law? Perry Mason reruns and always having a comeback as a kid. Traditional values and a fear of poverty also guided me toward law. Where do you work and what is your role? I’m the CEO of Varlack Legal Services in Hayward where I’m the chief problem solver, head crybaby, and trial warrior. What do you like most about being an attorney? Having the ability to make change and use my voice, especially in court. Advocating for political causes is also a passion of mine. What inspired you to join the CABL? Seeing so many incredible attorneys made me feel honored to be among the 2% of Black lawyers in CA. After my first convention in 2011, I was hooked! What is your favorite thing about being a CABL Board member? I appreciate the broad network of thought leaders who have become friends. What is something about you that fellow CABL members might be surprised to know? I’m originally from the East Coast and have now spent almost 20 years in CA! If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? Learning to paint, especially with watercolors. What advice would you give to the next generation of lawyers? Apply yourself to every task. As a litigator, mistakes matter, so own them and strive to improve your craft.

There is just something about a small town courthouse and community. I like them and love walking around the downtown areas of a small town. Maybe it is the sense of community. It intrigues me like walking through a big city admiring the buildings. The people in these communities can be drastically different in more ways than one. Similarly, not all jurors are alike. Knowing and understanding the people in the community where you are selecting a jury is important. It is also important to know what type of juror you want for your case. Not all stereotypes hold true and do not always lead to the verdict your client is seeking. Spend the time figuring this out before jury selection.

Transform Your Trial Practice: "The New Tools of Jury Selection" Seminar Friday, October 25, 2024 | 9 AM - 12:30 PM Attend Virtually via Zoom Virginia MCLE Accredited: 3.0 Hours If you’ve ever lost a case and didn’t see it coming, it might be time to rethink your approach to jury selection. Juries are hard to predict, but getting jurors to reveal their biases doesn’t have to be. Join us for this virtual seminar where you'll learn to overcome jury selection obstacles with powerful techniques like focus groups, social media research, and targeted voir dire questions. Reminder: The deadline for CLE hours is October 31st—don’t miss this opportunity to earn 3.0 Virginia CLE credits! Register now: https://lnkd.in/e_KBEmtu #vacle #continuinglegaleducation #juryselection

The Man Who LOVED “String Beans”: The Unexpected Reason Our Potential Juror Was Excused This Tuesday began with an uneventful jury selection in York County, South Carolina (trial should end next week) which got me thinking about a memorable moment in Minneapolis back in August. What are your experiences when someone tries to squirm out of serving on your jury? For me it is almost always one of two categories. 1) Can’t because of family/work/planned trip obligation or  2)  I have negative feelings of X and cannot be impartial. In MN I heard a new excuse that took a more positive approach and kind of had us laughing. I LOVE that product. “I’m a HUGE fan…” I looked back at the transcript, which doesn’t do the guys over the top enthusiasm proper justice. He was adamant and was ultimately sent back to the jury pool… presumably so he could be a big fan of whatever came next. 2 How about Acme Corp? Do you have strong 3 feelings, positive or negative, about Acme Corp or 4 Acme Corp Stringbean or other products? 5 Yes, Mr. Smith? You've got strong feelings 6 about the Stringbean products? 7 PROSPECTIVE JUROR SMITH: I like them a lot.                  *** 20 Yes, I'm a huge fan of the Acme Corp product, as 21 I mentioned, and have been for a while.                       *** 1 As far as the question about anything interfering 2 with my ability to be objective, I'm a huge fan. I think 3 that makes it a little hard for me to be as objective as I 4 would like to be. 5 Q. You're a big fan of one of the parties? 6 A. Acme Corp products.   The names are changed, and my client’s product are great…but admittedly are somewhat commonplace which made this humorous. We won that trial and I plan to write a little blurb about it. Got any good stories about funny attempts to get off jury duty? Please follow me and reach out to us at TrialGraphix/Magna Legal Services for your next trial! I'm Jason Rudd and I publish lessons & anecdotes learned from 20 years of "hot seat" experience.  #trial #litigation #juryselection

It's great when someone calls you "best." But even better when your peers select you for the 2025 Best Lawyers in America list. Read more about our honorees: https://lnkd.in/enknuQFf

Know (or admire from afar) someone who has a significant and proven track record of furthering access to justice for people in Ontario? Nominate them for a Guthrie Award by April 5. See details on the streamlined nomination process, and please share: https://bit.ly/3G1G9t3 Image: A round, bronze medal with the words "The Guthrie Medal" embossed on it. Beside it is text that says "Nominate an access to justice champion by April 5. Learn more."

“Jury service is an obligation, not an option.” A judge said this to a San Diego jury I helped select last year. I disagree with her message. Jury duty may be an obligation but courts should STOP framing it as such. Jury service is a privilege. It is power. It is American. Without a doubt the most frequent question I get asked when people find out about my work with juries is: “How do I get out of jury duty?” It’s a shame, but I can’t blame them. It’s no wonder our culture has a tainted misperception of jury duty when courts themselves patronize grown adults and perpetuate the perception that jury duty is a forced inconvenience. The message should be focused on the carrot, not the stick. After spending some time outside of the United States, I understand how lucky we are to even have the carrot in the first place. Other countries WISH they had a democratic jury system like ours. Just look at Japan or Argentina’s developing jury systems. Well, what is the carrot? That our voice matters. That we get to participate in a decision that affects our community. And I have empirical support for this. Some classmates and I conducted a study on jury duty satisfaction, and found that meaningful engagement drives satisfaction in jury service, and that as trust increases, so does satisfaction with the process. [PDF below] Instead of barking at people who report to jury duty that they have no option, courts could highlight the respect and power of jurors and tell them what I tell my friends: That is, we need the people in our communities to make the decisions in our community. It’s one of the few (if not only) times in your life where you may be the closest to influencing law in this country. Think twice before you willingly give up that power. I understand it is legally mandatory, but realistically, it is an option whether or not to serve. Smart people can easily find a way out of jury duty. But we need those smart people to be motivated to serve.

THE PRICE FOR THE PRIZE We heard of the price, And we shuddered, "That price is too high!" We thundered! Thundering our sighs, Which reduced to echoes, As we realised, That it demands everything. It demands our lives, To be occupied in the Ethics Of adjudicating the Crimes, Professionally and Corporately, With a Civil paradigm, Till we gain the Property - What we call the Prize, It is after Bar Finals, When as Assignees, We've paid the price, (The receipt of which BOB, Will afterward acknowledge,) And call us also, Among the learned.