Lessons from the Great Cow Case – No Bull!
[Note: Skip Walker presented this at the Western Trial Lawyers Association Seminar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, March 2020.] A woman walks into a corral.... Start of something great, huh? Well, it wasn’t for this woman. A mother cow took umbrage at her presence and rammed her into a fencepost, breaking eight of her ribs. …
Read MoreLessons From a Novelist on Picking a Jury
[Originally published in Plaintiff Magazine, January 2020.] The story you tell must be yours, not one that somebody else has told in another place at another time. In my “other” career, I write novels. Usually they are about lawyers. Always they have been published by major publishing houses. On more than one occasion they have…
Read MoreGreat Cases I have Lost – and the lessons learned
[This article originally appeared in Plaintiff Magazine in April 2018.] Lesson Number One In 1985, I tried the Alpine Meadows Avalanche case in Placer County for four and a half months. It took over two weeks to pick a jury in August, and in December the chosen 12 deliberated for two and a half weeks…
Read MoreThe Perils of Coat Tailing
[This article originally appeared in Plaintiff Magazine May 18, 2017.] When you hitch a ride on someone else’s trial, remember – “Nobody Rides for Free” Perhaps this has happened to you. A friend approaches, a colleague, a referral source. There is a fine case underway. A good attorney has it. Discovery is being conducted and…
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