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COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 5 – Direct “Conversation”

COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 5 – Direct “Conversation”

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Another great episode in the can … don’t want to say they get better and better, as they are all excellent, but you be the judge.  This week it was Direct Examination, really direct “conversation.” It is not about crafting a questions-and-answers script that counsel and the witness practice over again in anticipation of a perfect presentation at trial. Unsurprisingly, that perfect plan never materializes. Direct “conversation” is about your role in guiding the witness through their testimony, a journey that may not be, and need not be, a straight line. Direct “conversation” emphasizes your role in the presentation, embrace it.  As always click over to The Book page to read the chapter (Chapter 5 in this case) and find the embedded Spotify link for the episode.  Next time (28 January) going to have some fun with objections.  Stay tuned.

COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 4 – Opening Statements

COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 4 – Opening Statements

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Closed out 2020 with a solid hour on the importance of Opening Statements to setting your case up for success … and doing so in a way that enhances your credibility with the trier of fact. Thanks much to those icons in the world of military criminal litigation who sent in some questions that guided the discussion.  Particularly for the less experienced members of a trial team, opening statements is your best chance to get on your feet, be the center of attention, and persuade (hopefully in an entertaining, tell-and-show, way).  As always, you can find the episode on Spotify (COLE PowerHour), on the Book page, and I’ll embed below.

Next up, Direct Examination … or Direct Conversation as I like to call it.  Shooting for 7 Jan 2021, same time/same place.

 

COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 03 – Voir Dire

COLE Litigators PowerHour Chapter 03 – Voir Dire

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Episode 3 in the can, as they say.  Voir Dire — LOVE IT or HATE IT?  Well think we answered that pretty definitively. Especially for prosecutors, voir dire is a GREAT opportunity to tank your credibility with the jury, in fact your first opportunity to build it or tank it which makes tanking it then even worse. But laying out the landmines in the path towards a “successful” voir dire, and how to maneuver around them (The PrimeCOLE Voir Dire Hypocratic Oath — First, Do No Harm), we gave you a little bit over an hour of the best we got. Next up, Opening Statements (10 Dec). Isn’t this fun!!!

Spotify Chapter 3          Podbean  Chapter 3

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR – Coming Up

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR – Coming Up

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Hello my friends, PrimeCole here just getting ready to do battle with Mark and Adam during tomorrow’s PowerHour on Voir Dire.  Voir Dire, hate it, we’ll see if they love it and if so maybe some fireworks … though I’m guessing we’ll probably have similar philosophies.  Realized I had not loaded up the PH Flyer with our “pictures” and tentative schedule for the upcoming PowerHours. Tentative is the word, check in to make sure we’re still on track going forward.

COLE Litigators PowerHour Flyer FINAL

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If you’ve reached this page then you’ve been awarded one of THE-COLE coins–there must have been a good reason … or you successfully stole one. Either way, congratulations. And if you’ve reached this page then you haven’t figured out how to decode this series of letters to unlock the secret of being a successful JAG/attorney. Disappointing. So here’s a clue … ROT13.

Figured it out?  No, OK, one more CLUE.

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR 02 — Preparing Witnesses

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR 02 — Preparing Witnesses

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OK, we (Mark, Adam, and I) were back at it with a solid hour talking about the importance of preparing a witness for trial and how to do that more effectively. A more comfortable witness is a more credible witness and you are probably starting to pick up that credibility is a key foundation for just about every part of effective litigation, being an effective litigator.  As a fact witness at a fairly noteworthy military court-martial at which Mark was the senior prosecutor, we both had some practical experiences to share.  As always, the podcast links are below as well as the corresponding chapter of The COmpendium of Litigation Experience (The Book).  Next time:  Voir Dire … expect some differences of opinion on if, why, and how to do it.

SPOTIFY

PODBEAN

The Book:  Ch 2 Preparing WItnesses

COLE Time Video — Jones

COLE Time Video — Jones

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COLE Time videos are chats with litigators of all type to share their love of litigation, their experiences, and advice for their colleagues and the next generation of trial advocates.

Today’s guest is Maj Brent Jones, the former Regional Chief Senior Trial Counsel — West … or King of the West (recorded in 2017).  A long time litigator and close friend of PrimeCOLE, Maj Jones talks about what makes him an effective litigator, what it means to be a litigator, how to be a good one, and then screws up the softest of softball questions!  Many thanks to Jonesy for giving us the time and the benefit of his experience.

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR 01 — A Litigator’s Philosophy

THE COLE LITIGATORS POWERHOUR 01 — A Litigator’s Philosophy

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Mark (Rosenow), Adam “Mathew” (McConnaughy, and I (PrimeCOLE) have launched our COLE Litigators PowerHour Podcasts.  That was fun.  If you missed it, fear not. We recorded the first and will record the rest and have launched the first out onto various podcast platforms — hosted on Podbean, but available on all the others (click below or search “COLE PowerHour” on your favorite platform). This first week was all about getting into the right mindset to be a great litigator, an introduction to our philosophies, and The COLE mantras … Every Lawyer A Litigator and Litigate:  Any Case, Any Place, Any Time. We’ll link the podcasts to each Chapter of the Compendium (“The Book” tab above).

SPOTIFY

PODBEAN

The Book:  Ch 1 Litigator’s Philosophy

 

MILITARY JUSTICE 101

MILITARY JUSTICE 101

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So while the focus of this site is on litigation writ large, not just military litigation, there is a bit of a military focus to it as that is PRIME COLE’s profession. But the in-court part of military criminal litigation is not substantially different than civilian criminal litigation. The biggest difference is how the military criminal code is set up (and its focus on good order and discipline) and the terms used—the jargon. To help bridge that gap, we’ve put together a MJ 101 briefing and a glossary of military litigation terms with their civilian equivalents. If you are a civilian litigator, this may help follow some of the materials on the site (though we strive to edit as much as possible to eliminate military jargon). If you are a military litigator, then feel free to use these materials to help explain our system to those less familiar. To all, thanks for visiting and please stick around and contribute.

MJ 101 Glossary of Terms

MJ 101 PPT

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