I'm bringing this episode back because this question keeps coming up:

"How do I explain my number for non-economic damages?"

And here's the truth…

You don't.

At least not the way most attorneys try to.

There is no real formula for non-economic damages.

And when you try to force one… jurors can feel that it's not real.

What they're actually looking for is much simpler: Do YOU believe the number you're asking for?

In this episode, I walk through:

• The difference between price vs. value

• Why jurors don't need a calculation

• And how to present your number in a way they'll trust

If you want to actually practice this, my Damages Masterclass is happening THIS June, and this is exactly what we work on.

It's small group, hands-on, and designed to change how you show up in court.

Give the episode a listen, and if this is something you've struggled with, come work through it with me in June.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"You're all looking for formulas, tricks, and techniques—but that's not what's going to win the day. What wins is when you stand in front of a jury, fully own your number, and they believe you—not because of your calculation, but because you've made believers out of them."

Sari de la Motte

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This is my most listened-to podcast episode… ever. 🤯

So I'm bringing it back.

If you've ever thought:

"I don't have enough time in voir dire"

"This judge limits us"

"I can't get through everything I want"

This episode is for you.

Because the truth is, you don't need more time.

You need to focus on the right things.

In this episode, I walk you through the three principles you MUST get from jurors:

👉🏽 People should take responsibility when they hurt someone 👉🏽 Money holds people responsible 👉🏽 Money can help

That's it.

If jurors say these out loud, they begin to align.

And when they align, your job gets a whole lot easier.

This is the foundation.

Whether you have 20 minutes or two hours, THIS is what matters.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"We are not trying to convince the jury to believe anything. These are things they already believe. Our job is to bring those beliefs into the room so jurors can rally around them and when they do, they solve the case for us."

• Sari de la Motte

Can't get enough of me? Connect with me here:

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What if the issue isn't your case… but HOW you're thinking about the jury?

Most lawyers won't say this out loud, but it's happening.

You're asking the jury to do MORE than their job.

Not just decide the case, but decide if you're good enough.

If they rule in your favor → you feel validated.

If they don't → you question everything.

That's the trap.

Because the jury's job is simple: hold bad actors accountable.

That's it.

They are NOT there to:

🚫 Like you 🚫 Validate you 🚫 Prove you're a good lawyer

And the moment you start needing that from them…

YOU stop serving them and start trying to get something from them.

They can feel that.

🙅🏽‍♀️Stop asking, "What do they think of me?"

✅Start asking, "How can I help them do their job?"

That's where everything changes.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"You are giving them the job of making you feel good about yourself. That is not their job. So much of your self-worth is tied up in whether these six or eight or twelve people like you… and that is dangerous."

Sari de la Motte

Can't get enough of me? Connect with me here:

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One of our H2H™ crew members, Chrissy Hagen, recently tried a medical malpractice case that resulted in a defense verdict.

After trial, she reached out with a great question:

Should we be spending MORE time addressing defense points during trial?

In this episode, we talk through:

👉🏽 The med mal case involving a delayed prostate cancer diagnosis 👉🏽 What Chrissy heard from jurors after the verdict 👉🏽 Why some jurors admitted they "flipped" during deliberations 👉🏽 The concept of defensive attribution and how it shows up in trials 👉🏽 And the bigger lesson: WHY framing matters more than time spent on defense points

As we dug into the case, something important emerged.

The real issue in this case wasn't just the delayed diagnosis.

It was agency.

A doctor making a decision for a patient instead of giving that patient the information needed to make the decision themselves.

And when you find the real piss-off point for jurors, everything about how you frame the case can change.

If you've ever walked out of a courtroom wondering what happened in that verdict room, this episode is for you.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

What's actually motivating you in trial? 🤔

Is it love for your client?

Love for justice?

Love for the craft?

Or is it fear?

Fear of screwing up.

Fear of missing something.

Fear of not being good enough.

In this week's episode, I'm back with Coach K talking about why so many trial attorneys are fueled by self-criticism and WHY that strategy quietly burns you out.

We break down:

👉🏽 Why being hard on yourself doesn't create excellence 👉🏽 Why replaying mistakes reinforces them 👉🏽 How fear-based motivation keeps you stuck 👉🏽 And what happens when you shift to love instead

Because fear constricts.

Love expands.

And what you focus on, you create.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Whatever's motivating you is what's going to move you forward. If it's fulfilling, resonant, exciting — that's the energy you want behind your work. But if it's beating yourself up, focusing on failure, working long hours until you can't think anymore — that's the wrong motivation. It's going to drag you down. You won't be fulfilled. You won't feel joy. And it's not sustainable."

Coach K

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Let's talk about the voice in your head.

The one that says: "You should settle." "You're not ready." "If you lose, you're exposed."

That's NOT wisdom.

That's your saboteur and it's trying to keep you "safe."

In this week's episode, I break down:

🤨 What the saboteur really is 🤨 Why your brain resists growth 🤨 The 7-step process to stop self-sabotaging your trials (BONUS: Free downloadable prep sheet)

👉🏽 Download FREE 7 Step Process Prep Sheet 👈🏽

You can't stop thoughts from entering your brain.

But you CAN decide what to do with them.

Start growing the box.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"You cannot stop thoughts from entering your brain. That's not how the brain works. But you can be intentional about what you do with the thought once it's there. You can decide: this thought is here — what do I want to do with it? Because when you don't decide, the saboteur decides for you."

Sari de la Motte

Can't get enough of me? Connect with me here:

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You ever feel like your brain just… won't cooperate? 😣

You're overwhelmed.

You're reactive.

You're exhausted by 3:00 PM.

You can't focus the way you know you should be able to.

And then you beat yourself up for it.

In this week's podcast, Coach K and I are talking about something that might hit closer to home than you expect:

Why SO many trial lawyers operate like they have ADHD (even if they don't).

We break down:

👉🏽 What actually happens when your prefrontal cortex gets hijacked 👉🏽 Why chronic stress mirrors ADHD symptoms 👉🏽 The connection between overwhelm, impulse control, and addiction 👉🏽 The three things you can start doing immediately to get your brain back online

If you've ever thought: "Why can't I just get it together?"

This episode is for YOU.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Kevins ADHD Coach: https://lyndahoffman.com/

Quote:

"The brain fog and overwhelm that happens with ADHD — it takes so much more work just to do basic tasks. By the end of the day, you're exhausted. And there are a lot of times where you're just tapping out like, 'I can't do this anymore.' That can feed addiction or whatever coping mechanism you reach for. And it's very reminiscent of an attorney, because trial attorneys have that same brain fog, that same fatigue, that same overwhelm because of their jobs — even if they don't have ADHD."

Coach K

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Michael was here in Portland for our January Masterclass… so of COURSE I had to take the opportunity to sit down with him in the podcast room. 😉

Michael Cowen is a trial lawyer, firm owner, author of Big Rig Justice, AND host of Trial Lawyer Nation.

We talk about:

👉🏽 His path from Wall Street litigator to plaintiff trial lawyer 👉🏽 The evolution of his practice (and his firm) over the years 👉🏽 What shifted when he focused on the internal work (not just trial tactics) 👉🏽 Why loving trial is very different from simply getting through trial

It's a grounded, honest conversation about growth, professionally and personally, and what it REALLY takes to keep getting better in this work.

If you care about mastery, you'll want to listen.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"I could do all the trial techniques in the world. I could memorize other people's openings and copy their moves. But none of it would matter until I fixed myself. When I didn't trust the jury, when I didn't trust myself, that came through — in my tone, in my body language, in my eyes. And if they don't trust you, they shouldn't trust you. The shift for me was learning to believe that I am just as deserving, capable, and worthy as anyone else — not better, not worse. Once I stopped tying verdicts to my worth, everything changed."

Michael Cowen

Trial Lawyer Nation Podcast: https://triallawyernation.com/

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I'm joined by special guest Nate Cobb, a New Mexico-based trial lawyer who used to say, "I don't need that mindset stuff."

Until a case forced him to find out the hard way that mindset isn't optional — it's EVERYTHING.

In this episode, Nate breaks down a recent case that settled mid-trial for $17.5 million and exactly what made the difference when the pressure was on.

We talk about:

👉🏽 Why ignoring mindset almost cost him the case 👉🏽 How owning the number changed negotiations 👉🏽 Why trusting the jury matters more than fighting the defense 👉🏽 The moment he knew the case had shifted (and the defense knew it too)

If you've ever told yourself "I'll focus on mindset later", this episode is for YOU.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"I went from operating out of fear and reaction to realizing that the only reason my practice felt overwhelming was because I made it that way. Coaching didn't just change how I tried cases — it changed how I thought, how I showed up, and how much I actually enjoyed my work. Mindset isn't extra. It's the foundation."

• Nate Cobb

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One decision changed Tom D'Amore's (one of my FAVORITE clients) entire practice: He stopped being "great at settling cases"… and became a trial beast.

In this episode, Tom and I break down what actually shifted everything:

👉🏽 Why lawyers who don't try cases get paid less, even when they settle 👉🏽 How fewer cases created bigger results 👉🏽 Why most serious cases aren't about one bad actor, but systemic failure 👉🏽 And what it really takes to walk into a courtroom prepared — not hoping for luck

This is REAL trial work, real verdicts ($26.5M, $21M), and real growth.

This is the stuff NO one teaches in law school and very few people are willing to say out loud.

If you've felt that pull toward trial or you KNOW you're capable of more…

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"If you've got 150 cases, you're never going to excel at trial work. You just can't do all the things you need to do to prepare properly. That's why we keep our caseload small—so we can actually do the work."

• Tom D'Amore

Can't get enough of me? Connect with me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saridelamotte/

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