The theory gained prominence when trial consultant david ball and trial attorney don keenan published their book, reptile. Civil litigators take the side of a party in a dispute where no crime is involved. Louis, missouri submitted on behalf of the trials pac. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution, ball and keenan propose lines of questions in depositions that will equate a legal duty to a safety standard. They are the nations only trial consultants qualified to help attorneys with reptilian. Criminal lawyers may represent plaintiffs or defendants, the people, or the accused. The tactics described in the book have become widespread, and it is almost unavoidable in accidents that involve commercial motor vehicles. Why was the reptile trial advocacy book admitted into a.
David ball malekpour ball consulting is the nations most influential trial. The reptile gimmick, i think is just a marketing ploy, but david ball does know what he is talking about when it comes to winning big on trials. Couric includes criminal and civil lawyers in her study, such as racehorse haynes, the nashville lawyer for elvis presleys doctor, and fred bartlitt long before he was chief counsel to. As defense counsel informed me in a pretrial bench memorandum, plaintiffs counsel, mr. Several prominent lawyers on the plaintiffs side have cited this book as. The plaintiff attorney wants to use fear to threaten a jury. For trial lawyers looking more for war stories than a trial advocacy textbook, this is a good buy. The reptile has a stronger focus on liability in my opinion, either way, both are must reads. When the reptile sees a survival danger, she protects her genes by impelling the juror to protect. Reptile is a trial advocacy book written by trial lawyer don keenan. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution ebook 2 price.
Mar 03, 2010 reptile has nothing to do with those facts. Don keenan, a trial lawyer, and david ball, a jury consultant with a theatre background, articulated their version of the theory for the plaintiffs bar in their book. The reptile prefers us, meaning plaintiffs, for two reasons. And from a practical perspective, having a discussion or debate about the reptile can also help illuminate a number of other useful consideration related to legal persuasion. Its authors make no secret of the fact that the publication is for plaintiff attorneys, its full title being reptile.
A trial lawyer can be employed with the state, a business or with a private law firm. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution is a highly influential text for the modern plaintiffs lawyer. Are defendants tipping the scales on reptile theory. Trial lawyers are attorneys who regularly represent a party in a trial and argue the clients case for them. Oct 22, 2019 winning before trial 5 parts i hope you find a ton of value above. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution reptile. These two gentlemen coauthored a book titled, reptile. Ball and keenans core concept is that the human brain is conditioned to favor safety and survival, and that a trial strategy built around the unsafe nature of defendants conduct will encourage the jury to instinctively choose to protect their families and. May 20, 20 for many, the words lawyer and reptile are probably synonymous. There is no question it is a great book that many plaintiffs lawyers have read.
Rules of the road is americas bestselling text on proving liability. In their books, videos, and seminars, keenan and ball advise plaintiff. I cant figure out whether i like reptile or rules of the road better. Back in 2009, a former theater director named david ball and a zealous plaintiff attorney named don keenan published a book called reptile, describing it as the 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution. By way of background, the reptile theory was popularized by a 2009 book created for the plaintiffs. I have had a longterm interest in the reptile approach to plaintiffs trial persuasion. Please let me know if you might have a trial on the horizon. The trial lawyers job is to persuade a jury of the facts in a case, and to display them in a way that best supports their clients position. Since 2009, however, some lawyers have sought to transform the courtroom into a reptilian battleground. Apr 09, 2010 don keenan and david ball coauthored reptile. Defeating reptile theory motions in limine verdict magazine.
Plaintiffs bar embraces reptile strategy and defense bar responds. Strategies for dismantling the plaintiffs revolution by thomas m. It teaches a scurrilous method of distracting jurors with tricks that get their reptile brains fired up to overcome their sense of logic and fairness, inciting them to higher plaintiff awards and bigger lawyer payoffs. Another great read is david ball on damages, i think it is a better book than the reptile. Most trial lawyers and litigation professionals do. Keenan, travels the country teaching seminars to plaintiffs personal injury lawyers based on his book reptile. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolutionand use it against him. But in a dekalb county wrongful death trial last month, plaintiffs lawyer don keenan found that defense lawyers will also buy the book, reptile. Stetson university college of law floridas first law school. Reptile is a trial advocacy book written by trial lawyer. The reptile theory is a somewhat new strategy that plaintiff attorneys are using to obtain large jury verdicts at trial. Plus, unlike most of the books on this list, it is written from a canadian perspective. This book isnt about facts or fairness or reasonable compensation for damages.
Ive written several times before about studying the methods of the great storytellers of our times and of classical times and how juries respond to the. The reptile theory asserts that you can prevail at trial by speaking to. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution purportedly gives its adherents a significant edge. The strategy was designed specifically to achieve plaintiff verdicts and high damages, even in jurisdictions where damage caps exist. The perspective, articulated by david ball and don keenan in several books and in seminars around the country, focuses on the advice to your case around the primitive aka reptilian need for security. The cover of the book references its research team, which consists of authors and trial lawyers, james e. David ball, the trial method was created in response to tort reform. It is remarkable, as one reads cases, to find a series of published orders in which judges tell lawyers to keep the reptile theory out of the courtroom. David ball and don keenan popularized reptile strategies in their book, reptile. In 2009, david ball and don keenan published a book called reptile. It is a truism among trial lawyers that compelling stories win cases.
A central part of ball and keenans argument is that the reptile approach is a tool that helps one side, not the other. For many, the words lawyer and reptile are probably synonymous. This was the first jury trial in which our firm has directly confronted the socalled reptile theory as part of opposing counsels litigation and trial strategy. Keenan and david ball advocate persuading jurors by appealing to their reptile brains, the oldest part of the brain and the part responsible for primitive survival instincts. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution david ball, don keenan on.
Rattlesnakes in an urban world documents the history, both natural and human, of the relationship between snake and habitat and between man and rattlesnake in this case the timber rattlesnake of massachusetts the easternmost species in the united states. Before addressing the specific issues, i will briefly comment on the complaint by the jpa defendants that plaintiffs counsel followed the reptile playbook at trial. This matter having come before the court on defendant ruta obergfell, m. Sari is a gifted teacher, and there is practical, trialready advice on nearly every page. It is called the reptile theory because reptiles go into attack mode when threatened or frightened i. Plaintiffs bar embraces reptile strategy and defense bar. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution by david ball and don keenan. When the reptile sees a survival danger, she protects her genes by impelling the juror to protect himself and the community, write coauthors don c. Defense uses reptile strategy against keenan grsmb. For instance, under the reptile theory, the regulations of the federal motor carrier safety. Reptile is a trial advocacy book written by trial lawyer don keenan and jury consultant david ball.
Books every trial advocate should read before going into. David ball and don keenan, two members of the research group are the authors of this book. Clay first read the reptile book in the autumn of 2009, a few months after it was released. Oct 04, 20 the gurus of reptilian trial strategy are david ball and don keenan, whose book, reptile. With this book, sari joins the ranks of david ball, josh karton, and other great nonlawyers who understand our jobs well enough to actually make a contribution to our cases and performance. Reptiles in the courtroom advocacy and evidence resources. The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution by david ball and don keenan reptile refers to the reptilian part of the brain that contains our survival mechanism. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Nov 18, 2016 this is a great how to book for new lawyers. This strategy is also available to the defense attorney. Top 10 books for trial attorneys california trust, estate. The gurus of reptilian trial strategy are david ball and don keenan, whose book, reptile. And if ball and keenans devotees are to be believed, the theory is responsible for many large verdicts.
Both are the two most important books a trial attorney can read in my opinion. My interest isnt so much based on a belief that every foundation or. The science underlying the theory has been debunked many times. Reptile in criminal defense online seminar 4 price. While the trial court did grant a motion for new trial the court specifically stated in the order as. Undoubtedly, some of you are thinking back to your law school days and shouting, but wait. That year, attorney don keenan and jury consultant david ball published a book on trial strategy called reptile. Mar 15, 2010 but in a dekalb county wrongful death trial last month, keenan found that defense lawyers will also buy the book, reptile.
The book claims to be aimed at combatting the effects of the tort reform movement. Books every trial advocate should read before going into the courtroom. The reptile might also be the closest thing the field of trial persuasion has to the kind of grand theories that animate other areas of psychology and communication. We have a team of top former trial lawyers, top jury consultants, top hotseaters, and top litigation graphics artists ready to support your team. First, the reptile is about community and thus her own safety which, in trial, is our exclusive domain. Home about results scholarships my account contact 0 reptile keenan ball books. Defendants are increasingly filing motions to bar plaintiffs attorneys from using the theory, which appeals to jurors reptilian brains to obtain larger, and often unexpected, jury awards. Instead of trying to fighting back with modern trial techniques, defense lawyers now regularly file a motion in limine usually a cutandpaste motion they file in every case claiming the tactics outlined in the book somehow violate the rules of the courtoom. Ball have continued to promote the use of the reptile. It never occurred to me to try and use it to my advantage as a trial lawyer. My suggestion is to read rules of the road first, then reptile.
The 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution, authors don c. Reptile motion in limine opposition maryland personal. About the author trial lawyer don keenan is the founder of the reptile who, with david ball, cocreated and coauthored the reptile book. Jim perdue, a trial lawyer in texas, wrote a trial advocacy book literally titled winning with stories. The authors posit that the forces behind tort deform hijacked the reptile by fraudulently portraying plaintiffs lawyers as a menace to society. Since its original release in 2006, it has helped lawyers throughout the country win six, seven, and eightfigure verdicts in cases with difficult liability. Jul 29, 2014 the reptile theory is arguably the most gamechanging trend in litigation in recent history. Reptile theory is the most recent incarnation of a trial strategy that seeks to make use of the primal, inherent and often subconscious instincts andor fears of jurors. A decision was made to share the research with other plaintiff lawyers and this led to the publication of the book, reptile the 2009 manual of the plaintiffs revolution. The 2009 manual of the plantiffs revolution by david a. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors picks, and more.
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