Mitnik's Brushstrokes

Keith takes on the guts of what makes medical malpractice cases so hard to win, in spite of being right. In just a few minutes you will see clearly why the defense has an unfair advantage and how to take it away. Getting a just result for mistreated patients isn’t just about presenting evidence; it’s about adjusting the way we engage to make the contest fair.

Keith shows how to enlighten jurors about cases involving injuries from falls. There is often a kneejerk, negative reaction that the person who fell must not have been looking where they were going or they wouldn’t have fallen. Take a few minutes to listen and you will have the means to help jurors see for themselves – that’s not a fair reaction at all.

In this month’s Podcast “Not a Lot of Visible Property Damage” Keith provides a surefire way to put an end to one of the defense’s favorite unfair tactics – claiming it was just a fender-bender, therefore, your client couldn’t have been hurt badly from the defendant ramming him or her - waiving photos around like a magician uses a wand to distract and trick the audience. After you listen to this, they won’t be able to get away with that sleight of hand anymore.

This month’s Podcast “It's A Calling” reminds us - it’s an honor to be asked to stand up for others, when it's unfair for them to stand alone.

Keith gets to the heart of all that is right about money damages. The starting point of delivering on damage is “believing”. Then come the pillars of truth that help the jury believe too. One of those truths is – “It’s not about how much they’re going to get, it’s about how much was taken”. This is 15 minutes of pure truth from a true believer.

In this month’s podcast, “It’s Not About Being Pretty”, Keith shares a way for younger or less experienced lawyers to clear the obstacle of performance anxiety. The parts of trial that matter most - asking the Why questions, creating the language of the case, and building a framework to withstand the onslaught that is to come - don’t happen under the bright lights and fast pace of the courtroom; take place before trial, in private, where there is time to think about it, talk about it and get advice about it. Realizing you can do what it takes to win, even if it isn’t yet polished, will give you the peace and confidence to try cases while you’re building up experience. It’s about winning, not putting on a show. Let the show part go and let yourself go to trial, knowing you’re ready to do the parts that really count, right now.

In today’s episode of Keith Mitnik’s Monthly Brushstrokes, Keith shares the trial preparation technique that shaped his book Don’t Eat the Bruises, the “secret formula” that helps him to win his most difficult cases. It’s simple. The key to a winning argument always starts with one question: why?