Free Legal Research White Papers

Free General Legal Research White Papers for Our Valued Clients and Colleagues

How to Choose a Legal Research Firm

If you are at the point of considering outside sources for legal research, writing, and analysis, you are very likely aware of the blizzard of options that are currently available. 

The Ethics of Adding a Surcharge for Outside Attorney Work

This comprehensive, 32-page White Paper explores the question of whether an attorney using the services of an outside attorney may add a surcharge to his or her hourly billing rate.

Pleading in Federal Court after Ashcroft v. Iqbal

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal has important federal procedural implications  about which anyone practicing in the federal system needs to be aware.

MARITIME LAW: CONSUMPTION OF FUEL STORES DURING HIJACKING

Is Consumption of Fuel Stores During a Hijacking Event Covered by General Average? By an appeal published July 13, 2016, a British appellate court affirmed an intermediate appellate decision dated October 24, 2014, that had held that vessel fuel stores (colloquially known as “bunkers”) expended while a hijacked ship is under the control of pirates during ransom negotiations constitute an allowable general average “additional expense” under Rule F of the York Antwerp Rules, the industry codification of traditional general average law

 

Free Jury Research White Papers

Ten Dynamite Tips to Improve Your Results From Group Voir Dire  

Given the prevalence of some form of group questioning, our challenge is to employ methods that increase juror participation and disclosure in this setting. What follows are ten tips to meeting this challenge.

You, the Jury, and the Internet

The increasingly prominent role the Internet plays in American society poses a potential threat to the integrity of jury trials from the influence of outside information, both before and during trials...

The Seven Deadly Sins of Group Voir Dire (and How to Avoid Them)

Voir dire often makes or breaks lawyers’ efforts to identify potential juror bias.  This article considers the seven major pitfalls or "sins" in group questioning that can reduce lawyers' effectiveness and offers strategies to avoid them.

Effective Voir Dire

What are the four major goals of voir dire? How can we achieve them? This article takes a look at the major goals of voir dire (information gathering, rapport, education, and persuasion) and discusses how they can best be achieved.

Voir Dire Techniques to Maximize Damage Recovery: A Primer

One of the major challenges plaintiffs face is selecting juries that will return significant damage awards. This article discusses how to apply a two-pronged test involving liability and damages to help you identify unfavorable and favorable jurors along with an in-depth discussion of effective voir dire techniques to achieve your goals.

Tips for Understanding and Identifying Juror Bias

How do you understand and identify juror bias? Try the following: (a) conduct a case analysis; (b) understand the influence of the jurors’ backgrounds, experiences, opinions; (c) capitalize on what the juror’s nonverbal communication or “body language” is telling you; and (d) employ good questioning techniques. This article tells you how to do it.

See more about our Jury Research Services Division

 

Free Human Resources White Papers

Avoiding Record-Retention Blunders

This white paper describes both the need for, and the kind of information to include in employment records.  Two key federal Circuit Courts of Appeals cases in which employers were held liable for employment discrimination based on inadequate record keeping are discussed.

See more about our Human Resources Research and Consulting Group