Notes on Trying a Case

Notes from a Recently Tried Case

1.  The simpler and shorter case wins. Always.  If you can’t put your trial on quickly, figure out why. You are there
for a specific purpose- either to win your client’s case, win the motion or injunction, win a jury verdict, or defeat
one. That is your sole purpose. Narrow and filter your evidence to that purpose.

Most long cases lose (eg., St. Louis County Metro Link case and OJ Simpson criminal case).

2.  A client has to be truthful about everything in a trial. If the jury gets a whiff that they are not telling the
truth they won’t believe anything they say. This is more true with plaintiffs than defendants.

3.  Double down on preposterous positions. So you didn’t do anything wrong to cause this car crash? I guess that means
you’re going to drive the same way when you go home from the trial/deposition today?

You didn’t need to look where you were going when you were walking through that store and slipped and fell? Don’t people
need to look where they are going to be safe?

Here’s me deposing a hotel owner with a bad gutter, which leaked water that froze.  He denied he had a bad gutter, that
it leaked, or that the water then froze, until:

Then he folded. Case settled for $250,000.  Thanks for reading!

Gary Burger

Founder | Injury Attorney
Gary Burger has dedicated his career to standing up against bullies. The founder and principal attorney of Burger Law | St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer has helped hundreds of Missouri and Illinois individuals and families recover th …
Years of experience: 30 years
Location: St. Louis, MO

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