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

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Here's what I see all the time in trial openings:

😴 Same tone 😴 Same pace 😴 Same energy

The WHOLE way through…

And THAT'S the problem.

In trial, you're always doing one of three things: 👉🏽 Teaching 👉🏽 Storytelling 👉🏽 Dealing with resistance

Each one needs a different energy.

Teaching should FEEL electric.

Storytelling should FEEL like a movie.

Dealing with resistance requires calm & confident leadership.

When all three sound the same, jurors don't feel anything.

Great openings manage energy on purpose.

They let jurors learn, feel, and engage — moment by moment.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Most openings are boring and unmemorable because the energy never changes. It's the same energy the entire time — and that's mindless and boring for jurors. Great openings work because they manage energy from section to section, letting jurors learn something, feel something, and stay engaged."

• Sari de la Motte

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Hot take: Closing is NOT your last chance to re-argue the evidence.

By the time you stand up, jurors are overloaded, stressed, and terrified of getting it wrong. And piling on more facts? That's not helping.

Closing has one job 👉 empower the jury to act.

In this week's Sari Swears podcast 🎙️, I break down the 8 ingredients every closing needs — the pieces that calm juror brain threat, give them structure, and show them exactly how to do their job.

We're talking:

🚨 Why themes beat facts at the end 🚨 The part most lawyers skip (and shouldn't) 🚨 How to turn jurors from hostages into heroes

If your closing feels heavy, forced, or flat… this might be why.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"The purpose of closing is not to re-argue the evidence or shove more facts into jurors' brains. At that point, they're already overloaded. The real purpose of closing is to empower the jury to take action — to give them structure, tools, and confidence so they know exactly how to do their job and trust themselves enough to do it."

• Sari

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If delegating feels risky and holding on feels exhausting, this episode will hit home.

On the podcast this week, I'm joined by Coach K and Meredith Berg, an EOS Implementer, to talk about the real reason running your firm feels so damn heavy — and what ACTUALLY fixes it. 🎯

We get into:

👉🏽 Why delegation fails (even when you want to let go) 👉🏽 How accountability (not micromanagement) creates freedom 👉🏽 The biggest mistake law firm owners make with roles and people 👉🏽 Why culture matters just as much as skillset 👉🏽 How to stop spinning and start executing on a real vision

This isn't a theory.

It's structure.

It's clarity.

It's relief.

If you want your firm to support your trial work instead of competing with it, press play.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Everyone hits a ceiling. Whether you're a solo entrepreneur or leading a growing organization, there's only so much time and capacity one person has. At that point, you either choose to grow — by delegating and elevating — or you stay stuck."

Meredith Berg

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

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Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SariDLM

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This year will look EXACTLY like last year unless something deeper changes.

MOST people don't fail because they lack discipline or ambition.

They fail because they're chasing results instead of identity.

You don't want the verdict.

You want the feeling you think comes with it.

And here's the part no one wants to admit: Willpower is trash. It runs out. Every time.

In this week's podcast, I break down:

⚡ Why goals alone don't work ⚡ Why "doing more" keeps you stuck ⚡ Why everything shifts when you decide who you are first

If you want different results this year, don't write a longer to-do list…

Decide who the hell you are.

Then act like it.

The rest follows.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Resource:

jamesclear.com/identity-based-habits

Quote:

"We think we have to have the thing before we can do the things and then finally be the person. It has never worked that way. You decide who you are first. Then you do the things. Then you get the results."

• Sari de la Motte

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

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Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SariDLM

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If you're a trial lawyer, you've probably been told some version of this:

🚫 "Don't be arrogant."

🚫 "Stay humble."

🚫 "Let the work speak for itself."

Sounds right… until it starts shrinking how you show up.

In this week's podcast, Coach K and I talk directly to YOU about a mindset trap we see all the time — the humble saboteur 🧠.

It's the voice that tells you:

🗣️ "Don't own that win too much."

🗣️ "You're not there yet."

🗣️ "If you think you're great, you'll get lazy."

That voice is NOT humility.

It's fear.

And juries feel it.

Confidence is NOT arrogance.

This episode breaks down WHY a brag list isn't ego — it's how you have your own back.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Most people want to skip celebrating and move straight to the next thing. But what you celebrate is what you build on—growth doesn't come from self-criticism, it comes from recognizing your wins."

• Coach K

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

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Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SariDLM

Free FB Group for Plaintiff & Criminal Defense Attorneys https://www.facebook.com/groups/fromhostagetohero/

The year is winding down.

Trials are slowing.

Your brain is STILL going a mile a minute.

This week on Sari Swears, I'm joined by guest speaker Coach K for a conversation that feels like hitting the reset button before the new year.

We talk through the mindset traps that quietly wear trial lawyers down and what to do about them.

We Break Down:

👉🏽 Why chasing "100% prepared" keeps you stuck 👉🏽 How fear bloats your opening and blurs your story 👉🏽 Why isolation lies to you about everyone else having it together 👉🏽 How your saboteur plays its favorite holiday reruns 👉🏽 What it really takes to trust yourself again

If you've been carrying too much into this season, consider this your permission to put some of it down.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Your saboteur is going to try to throw all these things at you that you're never going to be able to achieve. You have to notice it showing up and say, 'I know you're here, but I don't need that right now.' It all starts with awareness—it starts with changing the way you think."

Coach K

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Have you ever felt COMPLETELY drained by this work… even when everything is technically "going fine"?

Not just tired, but heavy?

That's exactly what we're talking about this week on Sari Swears and Coach K is back with me for this episode.

We're diving into secondary trauma — the kind you absorb from:

👉🏽 The cases 👉🏽 The injuries 👉🏽 The families 👉🏽 The devastation

It doesn't just affect your health… it can quietly limit your damages in the courtroom.

If you've been feeling exhausted, disconnected, overwhelmed, or like you're always just pushing through — this episode WILL hit home.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari

Quote:

"Secondary trauma is when you take on trauma that didn't happen to you directly. You absorb what your clients have gone through — the cases, the deaths, the injuries — and that weight really sits on you. Even though it didn't happen to you, your body still carries it."

Coach K

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

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

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Free FB Group for Plaintiff & Criminal Defense Attorneys https://www.facebook.com/groups/fromhostagetohero/

Let's talk about money.

Specifically: what money can buy... and what it can't.

That distinction?

It's everything in trial.

And it's everything when it comes to damages.

Economic damages? You've got bills, life care plans, receipts…

Non-economic? You're asking the jury to put a number on grief.

On lost joy. On the inability to hold your child again.

In this podcast episode, I'll show you EXACTLY how to:

✅ Separate price from value in voir dire, opening, and closing ✅ Use stand-in language and metaphor to anchor your ask ✅ Reframe the jury's role so they stop thinking they're buying something and start seeing what their number really represents

If you've ever struggled to confidently ask for a big number… This one is for YOU.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari 💖

P.S. I threw in the 3 questions I use in closing to reframe damages every time. You can thank me later.

Quote:

"You're not pricing the pain. You're pricing the value of relieving that pain. You're pricing the value of reclaiming your life. What would you pay to get that back? That's what you're asking the jury to consider."

Sari

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

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

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Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SariDLM

Free FB Group for Plaintiff & Criminal Defense Attorneys https://www.facebook.com/groups/fromhostagetohero/

If you're anything like I was a few years ago…

You're doing everything.

You're hustling.

You're building.

And you're running a successful business.

BUT, you STILL feel trapped.

That's because you're operating like a solopreneur, not an entrepreneur.

(Spoiler: one burns out, the other builds a team.)

In this week's podcast, I'm sharing something outside of the trial world, but essential to your success inside the courtroom:

👉🏽 HOW to get the right people in the right seats 👉🏽 WHY the traditional org chart is completely ass-backwards 👉🏽 WHAT I've learned from implementing the EOS system (and why I wish I'd done it sooner)

I'm pulling back the curtain on my own journey — where I was the bottleneck — and how structure created more creativity, more impact, and yes… MORE freedom.

If you're tired of building alone, and ready to lead differently…

This one's for you.

Tune in NOW! 🎧

Love, Sari 💖

Quote:

"You can't grow if you're the one doing everything. The more I let go, the more the business grew — and the more I grew. That's the magic of getting the right people in the right seats."

-Sari

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

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SariSwears

Watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SariDLM

Free FB Group for Plaintiff & Criminal Defense Attorneys https://www.facebook.com/groups/fromhostagetohero/