I read with great interest the post by Tom Wallerstein From Biglaw to Boutique: The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall regarding the “David and Goliath” match-ups of big and small firms. Having myself been a partner at a small five-attorney plaintiff firm for years, I certainly know the
I have always loved the challenge of figuring out a way to show a large set of information all in one graphic. The undisputed master of high information graphics is Edward Tufte, whom I had the privilege of seeing recently at his latest swing through the Bay Area. Mr. Tufte
There’s been a lot of hype about the iPad’s apps for the legal profession. I’m going to add to it with a prediction that may seem far-fetched, but I believe stands a strong chance of coming to pass: The iPad will revolutionize the way legal briefs are created, distributed and
This post is written by Dave Nugent, Cogent Legal’s Senior Producer. Remember those childhood days of grade school innocence and the excitement generated when it was “Show & Tell” day? Presenters would stand before you, hold something up and then speak to it. That object was iconic. It immediately conveyed
We all know procrastinators who wait until a week before the annual deadline to fulfill their mandatory MCLE requirements on subjects that many find the least interesting, such as ethics, substance abuse and diversity. My law school recently hosted a day-long program in late January that offered six hours of
The other day an attorney from the state of Illinois contacted me out of the blue because he had seen my blog and wanted advice on preparing presentations for his jury trial. He asked, “Do you have problems with the other side objecting to your presentations? If so, what’s the
Almost weekly I get a call from an attorney looking for work and asking for an informational interview to hear advice I might have about landing a position with a firm or starting a solo practice. Often these are recent graduates who are getting quite discouraged about their career prospects
I wanted to start this New Year by highlighting new legislation in California that affects litigation or business. As always, some new laws are quintessentially Californian, like one that dress codes cannot discriminate against transgendered and cross-dressers. I’ll make sure to put that in my employee handbook. I also was
As much as my ego hopes that Cogent Legal Blog is read by attorneys far and wide who eagerly await each update, I’m well aware that busy attorneys have limited time to read blogs and that thousands of law-related blogs vie for your attention. For all of you who might
Unlike a case of a broken bone that might easily be seen on an X-ray, traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases are often much more difficult to diagnose and ultimately present to a jury. Having worked on many of these types of cases—first as a trial attorney, now as a consultant
At a recent seminar I attended, Judge M. Lynn Duryee of the Marin County Superior Court had a great story of an attorney who stood up in opening statement and said, “I’m going to call an economist who will testify about the damages caused by the negligence of Defendant, but
This post is written by my wife, Sarah Lavender Smith, who works with me at Cogent Legal as the director of communications. Yesterday I attended a panel discussion called “Legal Social Media Gone Wild: A Look at the Ethics Involved in Lawyer Participation Online,” sponsored by the Bay Area Chapter
When I graduated from law school in 1993, job searching via social media consisted of using the Yellow Pages to find a law firm to cold call. Wannabe associates like me attended job fairs and perhaps asked a parent’s friend to write a letter of recommendation. In that pre-Internet day
Last week, the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) put on a full one-day mock trial in San Francisco in front of a large gathering of attorneys to show how the masters of trial do their trade. The mock trial turned out to be a fascinating study in contrasts between
You’ve probably used Google Maps for driving directions. But have you tried using it for your case? From a litigation standpoint, there is no quicker and easier way to start building useful demonstratives for your client than with Google Maps and its relative Google Earth. The tech know-how required is
Morgan C. Smith, president and founder of Cogent Legal, is an attorney who litigated complex, high-value cases for almost two decades.
Michael Kelleher is a registered patent attorney and former partner at the firm of Folger Levin & Kahn where he litigated IP and complex business cases for 16 years.
Andrew Walker is the Co-Executive Director of the Sacramento office, and an attorney with many years' experience in mock trial work.
Deep Athwal is Co-Executive Director in Sacramento, and also an attorney with extensive mock trial experience.
Please note: Cogent Legal provides litigation consulting services to attorneys. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice on any matters.
