ASTC

Court Call: Spring 2009, Volume XXV, Issue 1

President's Column

Years ago, I was in love with my career, but it wasn’t close to being steady work. Feast or famine—sometimes with long dry spells. It was scary at times. I read books a ...

ASTC Approved as CLE Provider

ASTC Approved as CLE Provider

Tell your clients they can get CLE credit at ASTC.

Attorneys attending the ASTC 28th Annual Conference in Atlanta, June 4-7, 2009 can obtain continuing legal education (CLE) credit. On March 20, 2009 the State Bar of Georgia approved the American Society of Trial Consultants' (ASTC) application as an accredited CLE provider. The approval of ASTC’s programs by the Georgia Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency makes it easier for all attorneys with CLE responsibilities, whether they are from Georgia or not, to obtain credit for attending the ASTC Annual Meeting.

Twenty-two and a half hours of conference programs are CLE approved, including an hour of ethics instruction. The approved programs include:
• Storytelling Workshop – Opinion Formation & Practicing Skills
• Evaluating Truthfulness Workshop
• To Tell the Truth – Ekman Group
• Cultural Effect on Juries Around the World
• Visual Strategies to Tell Your Story
• Ethics in Jury Selection in the Age of MySpace
• Perspectives on Witness Preparation
• Constructing Winning Arguments from Focus Groups
• Stand Up and Act! Presentation Skills Workshop
• Mastering the Art of Trial Advocacy
• Implicit Unconscious Bias – The Science, the Myths, and the Reality
• Lawyers in Your Living Room: Effects on Jurors
• Economic Climate Effect on Damages
• Beyond the Death Penalty Qualifications
• Closing the Doors to the Courthouse

Members of the Georgia Bar need their bar association number to obtain CLE credit. Prior to the conference, attorneys from outside Georgia should go to www.cleusa.com to ascertain their state’s procedures. Most are similar and quite simple. The general rule is, if the course has been approved by the state where the program is being held, and that state is recognized as having comparable minimum CLE requirements [and Georgia satisfies both criteria], it is eligible for CLE credit in other states.

ASTC will provide sign-in and sign-out sheets at each CLE approved session which will generate the appropriate Certificates of Attendance for Georgia and Non-Georgia attorneys. Many states have their own Certificate of Attendance that in most cases can be obtained through www.cleusa.com. Most will also recognize a Uniform Certificate of Attendance, available at www.clereg.org/forms/uniformCOA.pdf, and also available from ASTC at the Conference. In most cases the certificates must be turned into the state’s continuing legal education office within 30 days of the program.

For more information on the ASTC conference click here.

The Latest Edition of The Jury Expert

The March 2009 Issue of The Jury Expert is now available
Click here to view the entire issue

Register NOW for the 28th Annual ASTC Conference

ASTC Conference in Atlanta, June 4-7, 2009

Raising the Bar: Experiencing New Heights ASTC’s 28th Annual Conference increases its rich foundation of teaching what we know about juries and establishing professional standards that guide responsible trial consulting practice. This year, with twenty conference programs, CLE, receptions (honoring TJE authors, ASTC’s pro bono teams, conference speakers, and sponsors), workshops, exhibits, dinners and activities, our Annual Conference is a time to exchange ideas, contacts, and humor.

We’ve been listening to members and developing programs since last June! We know you are ready to see what will happen at the ASTC Annual Conference in Atlanta. Members will be receiving packets of conference information in the mail. You can also view conference updates on the website and register online. View further conference and program details.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY!
(Members must log in to receive the members' rates)

Conquer the economy – come to our Atlanta Conference and reap the rewards! This is the time to be at the top of your profession. Join us at the Grand Hyatt at Buckhead.

Cynthia Cohen, Ph.D., Atlanta Conference Chair
President-Elect

ASTC is pleased to announce the results of our elections!

ASTC is pleased to announce the results of our elections!
Congratulations! ASTC is very proud of this impressive group of leaders for the term of 7/09-6/10.
Beth Foley as President-Elect, Dennis Elias as Secretary, and Tara Trask as Treasurer.
Elections to positions on ASTC's Board of Directors include Matthew McCusker and Anne Reed who will serve 7/09 - 6/13.
The current President of ASTC is Doug Keene, the President-Elect is Cynthia Cohen, the Secretary is Beth Foley and the Treasurer is Tara Trask.

Court Call: Summer 2008, Volume XXIV, Issue 1

A Look Back with Margie Fargo

Q. What skills learned in college were most useful in your career as a litigation consultant?

A. Face to face interviewing skills, ...

Court Call: Fall 2007, Volume XXIII, Issue 3

Letter from the President

I just returned from the Board of Directors’ Mid-Year Meeting in Atlanta and am excited about the direction we are going this year. This is my fourth year on the Board and I have never seen such impressive committee production. There is much good work to recognize, and here are some clear h ...

Court Call: Summer 2007, Volume XXIII, Issue 2

Letter from the President

Every year at our annual conference we learn from each other and get energized to improve our practice and improve the profession. This year was no exception. The committees are clearly invigorated and off to strong starts. What’s going on within the ASTC? What are the committees working on ...

Court Call: Spring 2007, Volume XXIII, Issue 1

Thinking About the Past and Focusing on the Future:

The American Society of Trial Consultants has just passed the quarter-century mark, and with membership at a historic high (533 as of this writing), the society is ready to host another well-attended conference. Yet, as each member contemplates the renewal notice of this organization (and inevita ...

Court Call: Summer 2006, Volume XXII, Issue 3

Letter From the President

The American Society of Trial Consultants recently celebrated its twenty-fifth annual conference in Austin Texas. The past quarter century has witnessed the Society moving from a small but ...

Court Call: Spring 2006, Volume XXII, Issue 2

Additional Conference Highlights

Specialty insurance is an issue that has been visited (and revisited) by ASTC over the years. At the last ASTC Board Meeting, Board Member Chris Dominic reported on his latest investigation. The following presents a summary of his conversations with ...

Court Call: Spring 2005, XXI, Issue 3

ASTC Acquires the Jury Expert

We are pleased to announce that the ASTC has acquired The Jury Expert from Litigation One Publishing. The Jury Expert is a monthly newsletter designed to help litigators improve their courtroom communication skills. Teresa Rosado, Ph.D. will be the Editor ...

Court Call: Winter 2005, Volume XXI, Issue 2

A Window on the ASTC Regional Meetings:

While the ASTC comes together as one collective body during its annual conference, during much of the rest of the year, the ASTC is often most visible and most important as a network of contacts among active members. The ASTC regional meetings which were held in eleven cities across the country this ...

Court Call: Fall 2004, Volume XXI, Issue 1

Engaging in the Public Dialogue on the American Jury

For the last three years the ABA’s Dialogue Program has promoted public discussion on specific aspects of the legal system. This year’s program, “Dialogue on the American Jury: We the People in Action” provides a terr ...

Court Call: Summer 2004, Volume XX, Issue 3

First Speech In Favor of Certification

If we have an opportunity to increase our internal competency while simultaneously maximizing our external credibility, wouldn"t we be crazy not to take that chance? We are at such an exciting time. Certification is that inevitability of a profession that has matured. Now ten years ago, we had ...

Court Call: Winter 2003, Volume XIX, Issue 2

From the President

Do you remember the childhood game "Telephone," where one child whispers a message to the next child and the message is passed from one player"s ear to another until the last to speak has to repeat aloud what turns out to be a fairly garbled, often hilarious version of the original me ...

Court Call: Spring 2003, Volume XIX, Issue 3

From the President

All the clichés apply. "If you can dream it, you can achieve it." "Picture it and the painting of reality follows." It"s impressive to me how informal brainstorming from one trial consultant or collective ideas from a gathering of ASTC colleagues have helped shape ...

Court Call: Summer 2003, Volume XIX, Issue 4

ASTC Annual Conference held June 5-8 in Reno

Rather than betting on the likelihood of future terrorist activity, ASTC members gathered for the Annual Conference in Reno, Nevada betting that they would have a great time, learn about new approaches in the field, learn about their colleagues new and old, and move the organization onward and upwar ...

Court Call: Fall 2003, Volume XIX Issue 5

Book Review

Courtroom Psychology and Trial Advocacy by Richard C. Waites, J.D., Ph.D. encapsulates invaluable insights learned over the author"s 23 years in the courtroom as both a lawyer and trial psychologist, and illustrates how the meaningful application of social psychology as it pertains to de ...

Court Call: Winter 2004, Volume XX, Issue 1

Your Counterfactual Strategy: How You Can Influence Jurors" Thoughts About "What Might Have Been"

What do jurors in deliberation do about ten times per hour that requires them to suppose something that"s false in order to investigate whether something may be true? The answer is that they engage in counterfactual thought or argument by asking "what if" and by speculating on "w ...

Court Call: Spring 2004, Volume XX, Issue 2

To Certify or Not to Certify (Good Question)

The question of whether ASTC should certify trial consultants has a long history, emerging during the society"s formation, again through the activities of a committee in 1994-1995 and most recently through the formation of the current ASTC Credentialing Task Force. Neither the Task Force nor t ...

The Jury Expert: Strategies for Combating Anti-Gay Sentiment in the Courtroom

This article describes the extent and nature of anti-gay sentiment, how it differs from racial bias, and how attorneys and jury consultants concerned about homophobia can combat anti-gay bias in the courtroom.

The Jury Expert: The Graphics Guy: Turning Timelines into Plotlines

Take your humble timeline. Re-conceive and re-execute and turn your timeline into a plotline. Plotlines weave each event into a single and logical flow of information. Plotlines are not just 'who, what and when' but also 'why and how, cause and effect, motive, means and opportunity'. Strengthen your storytelling. Move from timelines to plotlines.

The Jury Expert: Fairness, Justice and True Understanding: The Benefits of Peremptory Strikes

A response to the Wall Street Journal article (from March 5, 2009) on peremptory strikes. Why peremptory strikes can protect against bias and why when we remove peremptory strikes, fairness is what is lost.

The Jury Expert: Keeping Secrets: Protecting Privilege in Pretrial Research

How can we ensure that confidential information stays confidential? In this timely article, Kacy Miller walks us through multiple steps to take to ensure the confidentiality of pretrial research in the midst of a changing world filled with Twittering jurors and phones with internet access.

The Jury Expert: Injured Body, Injured Mind: Dealing with Damages for Psychological Harm

While a principal function of the civil justice system is to make whole any person injured by another's careless or intentional actions, insofar as that is possible--not all injuries are created equal. This article reviews examples of disparate treatment for physical and psychological injuries and offers recommendations for how psychological injuries can be presented so as to be taken seriously by jurors considering damage awards.

The Jury Expert: ASTC 28th Annual Conference: Raising the Bar, Experiencing New Heights

An overview of highlights for ASTC's annual conference. June 4-7, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Jury Expert: Expert Witness Preparation: What Does the Literature Tell Us?

A review of the literature on expert witnesses. What does the literature tell us about how to prepare expert witnesses to be effective, confident, believable, knowledgeable and credible on the stand? Recommendations for best practices are made.

The Jury Expert: Grime and Punishment: How Disgust Influences Moral, Social and Legal judgments

Emotions can alter judgments. While we are familiar with how emotions like anger or sadness may modify how we react or how we see others, little attention has been focused on disgust. This article defines disgust, explains how it influences judgments and why legal scholars, judges and attorneys should pay attention to disgust. Strategies for addressing disgust are included and three experienced ASTC-member trial consultants offer their reactions.