Is Today's Jury Listening?
New book and podcast from West help lawyers connect in the courtroom
EAGAN, Minn., Dec. 2, 2008 - Lawyers who communicate clearly to jury members tend to present a more effective case. But are there forces in play, today, that make it harder to communicate to any jury? E-mail, text messaging, social networks, digital video recorders ... today's methods for gathering information are in direct conflict with the juror who is expected to thoughtfully sit, listen to and analyze a lawyer's every word for hours on end.
To help lawyers learn new techniques to connect with a jury, courtroom communication expert Sonya Hamlin has written
Now What Makes Juries Listen, published by West Legalworks™.
Hamlin cites three major issues that she says "have changed everything radically" in the jury box:
- Technology - "We don't talk to each other now, we type! We get our information about anything online, on our own, fast and easy," Hamlin says. "So, learning from someone talking at us has lost its power and credibility. And our attention span is now one-and-a-half minutes."
- Generational differences - "We now have four generations sitting on the jury: seniors, baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. They're almost from different planets. Reaching each one requires new information in order to reach and persuade them."
- Multicultural diversity - "We have people on juries who have become American citizens but are conditioned by other societies, other governments and other kinds of laws."
About the author: Sonya Hamlin has gained acclaim from top litigators for her insight into jury communication strategies for the courtroom. She created and taught the first such course at the Harvard Law School. Her landmark book
What Makes Juries Listen, was followed by
What Makes Juries Listen Today. For more information about her work, go to
www.sonyahamlin.com.
Note to editors: To listen to a Westcast podcast featuring Sonya Hamlin and
Now What Makes Juries Listen, go to the Westcast website at
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Westcast or go to iTunes and enter "Westcast" in the search box.
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