Mentoring Moment: Trial—Minus The Tribulations. The 3M Mass Tort Team (whom I serve as National Coordinating Counsel) got a King County, WA defense verdict on October 30th. Some say you learn the most when things don’t go your way, but I managed to gather some gems from what went right: 1. You can win at the deposition. The Plaintiff's videotaped examination, taken by Nancy Erfle, was a master class in effectiveness and central to 3M's defense. 2. Technology is important, but don’t be dependent. When there was a Power Point glitch during openings, Angela Brandt didn’t flinch. She knew her presentation and nailed it. 3. Energy is everything. With each cross examination, Byron Miller changed the courtroom dynamic and commanded the jury's attention. 4. Never take no for an answer. Appellate counsel Mike Brooks used every opportunity to persuade the judge and protect the record. 5. It takes a village, literally. MANY contributed to the effort. 6. It’s the practice, not the perfect of law. When things don’t go as planned, shake it off and look ahead. 7. It helps to have a client you believe in, that believes in you. 3M, through Mass Tort Leader Bill Childs, took a principled stand and saw it through. I am grateful for that, for our tireless team, and the lessons learned along the way.
A true team effort.
That is good stuff
Very nice -- congratulations to you and your team.
Congratulations to the whole team!
Congratulations Bernadette and Team!
Congratulations to the Team! Excellent result!
You used talented professionals, multimedia, and sheer grit to prevail. Better yet, you learned from winning, which is hard to do. Congrats to you, your client, and your team!
This team understands the power of true multimedia. Jury selection and jury charge by Zoom, non-live witnesses by video with scrolling transcript, PowerPoint slides with experts and open/close, large blowup boards and the best one of them all....using a flipchart in the courtroom to cross a witness on zoom. It was old school and it was awesome!
Attorney at Milber Makris Plousadis & Seiden, LLP
3yThis is great and very helpful to read. Thanks!