Rick Merrill founder and CEO of Gavelytics.
Regardless of your trial strategy as a litigator, an effective and zealous client advocate must be prepared in all aspects of a case. This means conducting thorough discovery and learning as much as possible about each potential witness and all the evidence they might be expected to introduce. Another critical component to preparation is to learn as much as possible about any other individuals involved in the case, such as opposing counsel, and especially the judge, arbitrator or mediator hearing the case. What are their strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, preferences and points of disfavor? Basically, what arguments and strategies will likely work, and which will not.
Historically, this nonevidence-based reconnaissance would be done by drawing from personal experience or inquiring of friends or colleagues. A helpful strategy, but not necessarily scientific or reliable on its own. A far more effective approach would be to collect all the reported and relevant decisions of a particular jurist, and then tailor a litigation strategy accordingly. Welcome to the world of litigation analytics and the fast-evolving line of platforms designed to offer trial attorneys a competitive advantage, now and in the future.
