The Top 21 Litigation Articles of 2017

By: Kenneth J. Lopez, J.D. Wed, Nov 29, 2017 @ 11:18 AM

Trial Graphics, Litigation Graphics, Jury Consulting, Mock Trial, Demonstrative Evidence, Juries, Jury Consultants, Trial Preparation, Storytelling, Visual Persuasion, Judges, Timelines, Persuasion, Cognitive Bias

Every year going back to the start of this blog in 2011, I have paused to look back over the past 12 months of articles and see which were deemed best by our readers. Some articles have been read 90,000 times while others, often surprisingly, are only viewed a few dozen times. In this method of article ranking, every reader view is a vote.

This year's top 21 list is consistent with recent years. Articles about storytelling and voir dire are the most read. The #1 ranked article, in particular, was very popular because it was not only about storytelling but features three top trial lawyers (all clients of A2L) talking on video about how they incorporate storytelling techniques into their advocacy.

Enjoy these articles and please do encourage a friend to subscribe (for free) to this blog, The Litigation Consulting Report. Soon, we will have more than 10,000 subscribers. Each of these articles can be tweeted or shared on Linkedin using the buttons below the article. Click the titles to view the articles.

21. What Trial Lawyers Can Learn From Russian Facebook Ads

mock-jury-focus-group-mock-trial-jury-consultants-253021-edited.jpg 20. 5 Key Lessons You Can Learn From Mock Juries

litigation-consultants-great-lawyer-good-lawyer-318089-edited.jpg 19. How to Get Great Results From a Good Lawyer

18. 17 Reasons Why Litigation Consultants Are Better at Graphics Than Law Firms

storytelling-for-lawyers-trial-courtroom-a2l-486885-edited.jpg 17. Storytelling at Trial Works - But Whom Should the Story Be About?

16. Why the Internet Has Permanently Changed the Techniques of Persuasion at Trial

bored-jury-show-dont-tell-litigation-graphics-651944-edited.jpg 15. NITA Experts Agree: Jurors Want Lawyers to Show, Not Tell

judge-litigation-graphics-bench-trial-706057-edited.jpg 14. Using Litigation Graphics in Bench Trials: How Different Is It From Jury Trials?

too-many-powerpoint-slides-courtroom-judge-jury-862271-edited.jpg 13. The Team With the Most Demonstratives Doesn't Necessarily Win

hippocratic-oath-lawyers-legal-industry-attorneys-litigation-graphics-933861-edited.jpg 12. 7 Times When Litigation Graphics Hurt You

11. 3 Lessons That Trial Lawyers Can Learn From a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

storytelling-success-trial-litigators-lawyer-103276-edited.jpg 10. The Value of Storytelling: A Current Case in Point

9. Cialdini's Principle of Persuasion: Liking- Part 3

cognitive-bias-courtroom-persuasion-a2l-201107-edited.jpg 8. 7 Ways to Overcome Cognitive Bias and Persuade

narrative-storytelling-litigators-trial-lawyers-262646-edited.jpg 7. The Key Elements of a Good Narrative: at Trial or Anywhere Else

6. How to Be a Great Expert Witness (Part 1)

great-trial-teams-good-to-great-collins-740905-edited.jpg 5. 7 Habits of Great Trial Teams

4. Still Think Persuasion is About Talking While Showing Bullet Points?

persuasive-storytelling-for-litigators-cta-835596-edited.jpg 3. Announcing A2L's New Storytelling Webinar

top-bottom-trial-timelime-courtroom-litigation-881958-edited.png 2. 3 Excellent Ways to Use Top-Bottom Timelines in Trial

1. Three Top Trial Lawyers Tell Us Why Storytelling Is So Important

About Kenneth J. Lopez, J.D.

While attending the Delaware Law School in the early 1990s, Ken taught himself computer animation as a hobby. That hobby, combined with his law degree and a degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington, helped launch his career in litigation consulting.

In 1995, he founded his first company, A2L Consulting, where he served as its President/CEO for nearly 25 years. A2L provided litigation support services to all of the nation’s top law firms and their clients around the world. Often called upon when the dollars at stake are high, A2L’s services included helping to predict how judges and juries will react to a case (i.e., jury consulting and mock trials), the creation of sophisticated visual evidence used to persuade judges and juries (i.e., litigation graphics and 3D animation), and the deployment and use of state-of-the-art technology in the courtroom (i.e., hotseaters and trial technicians).

Ken launched LawProspecter in 2007, a first-of-its-kind software company that provided information about litigation and who was involved in it. In 2020, Ken launched OurHistoryMuseum, a crowdsourced history museum, which he continues to run.

Bestselling business author Dan Pink highlighted A2L in his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, and Ken has been quoted by many news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Inc., NBC News, Wired, the Washington Post, and the BBC.

Recently, the readers of LegalTimes voted A2L “best jury consultants” and “best trial consultants,” and readers of the National Law Journal voted A2L “Best Demonstrative Evidence provider” in the country. Many other publications have held similar votes and ranked A2L at the top of a key category. The American Bar Association named A2L’s blog, where Ken and his colleagues publish weekly, one of the top 100 blogs in the legal industry and one of the top 10 litigation blogs.

In 2013, Virginia’s Governor appointed Ken to a four-year term on the University of Mary Washington’s Board of Visitors. He has also served on the Dean’s National Advisory Board of Delaware Law School and various local and business boards and advisory groups.

In 2023 Ken launched Persuadius, a litigation consulting company that has picked up where A2L left off.

Despite an interesting and varied career, Ken still lists his top passion and proudest accomplishment as “father of triplet girls born in 2008.”

You can reach Ken Lopez at ken@persuadius.com or 800.847.9330

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