By Don Keenan First let me describe the title. Do you know how it was when you were a puppy lawyer fresh out of law school, certain you knew all the intricacies of black letter law (and you probably did)? Now you’re sitting next to Bubba, who is emphatic on many issues by that Bubba […]
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BUZZY/BUBBA LAWS
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REPTILE© AUTOPSY: REPTILE© SUPERSTARS CHRISTOPHER CARVER & MICHAEL BRISTOW
By Michael Peterson, Keenan Law Firm This month’s Reptile© Superstars are Christopher Carver and Michael Bristow, who practice personal injury law at the Daniel Stark Law Firm in Bryan, Tex. Chris and Michael focus primarily on car wreck cases and routinely try cases in the firm’s litigation department using the concepts of the Reptile© as […]
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THE POWER OF THE PASSION VOIR DIRE QUESTION
By Don Keenan By now you’ve heard of the bulletproof way to open your voir dire by using a “What’s your passion?” question. Unfortunately, as I make my rounds through the various Keenan Ball College (KBC) course offerings and occasionally survey our 60‑plus listservs, I am painfully aware that many levels of passion awareness exist. […]
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COSTA RICA ADVANCED REPTILE© SEMINAR
By Don Keenan For those of you who have missed the last five Cutting Edge Advanced Reptile© Costa Rica Seminars, you’ve missed out a lot. For 2016, we’ve capped attendance at 60, which ensures a very intimate relationship for all attendees. As of this posting, we have nine open seats left. Note: This is not […]
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KEENAN BALL COLLEGE: A TRIAL LAWYER’S NECESSITY, PART II By KBC Dean, David Hoey
By KBC Dean, David Hoey Amat Victoria Curam Latin for “victory loves preparation” or “victory favors those who take pains;” that is our motto. This is our goal: To prepare you for trial the right way. Practice and preparation, as painful and time-consuming as it may be, it will pave the road to victory! The […]
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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WORD MAKES
By Don Keenan Of the 100-plus focus groups I’ve reviewed on behalf of referring attorneys or lawyers just wanting a critique, I can think of only three that were done properly. More often than not, the lawyer doesn’t take the time to plan the end game – he or she doesn’t consider where they’re going […]
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Wishing all you woodpeckers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend! Note from Papa Don this week: All Keenan Ball College courses for Jan.-Feb. 2017 are full, with waiting lists. The KBC course schedule has been posted with class schedules up through June 2017 so if you want to attend, sign up sooner rather than later. Read […]
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REPTILE© AUTOPSY: REPTILE© SUPERSTAR WILLIAM ROBISON
By Michael Peterson, Keenan Law Firm Message from KBC Dean Hoey: The classes for the first three months of the Keenan Ball College in 2017 are full with waiting lists for all. We are trying to add more classes, BUT you need to sign up early for classes – don’t wait. This month’s Reptile© Superstar […]
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THE 17‑MINUTE VOIR DIRE
By Don Keenan Message from KBC Dean Hoey: The classes for the first three months of the Keenan Ball College in 2017 are full with waiting lists for all. We are trying to add more classes, BUT you need to sign up early for classes – don’t wait. When I have taught the Reptile© Voir […]
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NEW FRONTIER UPDATE
By Mindy Bish, Gregg Luther, Will Sykes Note from Papa Don: As we head toward the end of 2016, I wanted to end the year with a progress report on the major Reptile projects that have been ongoing. Below, you’ll find updates from Mindy Bish on the Reptile in Practice, Gregg Luther on the New […]
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Wishing all you woodpeckers a very Happy New Year! The blog will resume with a new post on Jan. 6 — 17 Power Words for 2017. Hope everyone has been having a great holiday season. -Papa Don
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17 POWER WORDS FOR 2017
By Don Keenan The annual Advanced Seminar in Costa Rica is always when we have the official unveiling of this list. Further, I do a test drive with a couple of my referring attorney groups to make sure the list contains the right words. My litmus test is getting a lawyer to look at the […]
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17 POWER WORDS FOR 2017
By Don Keenan The annual Advanced Seminar in Costa Rica is always when we have the official unveiling of this list. Further, I do a test drive with a couple of my referring attorney groups to make sure the list contains the right words. My litmus test is getting a lawyer to look at the […]
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USE OF SAFETY STANDARDS, CODES & PRACTICES IN TORT LITIGATION
By Harry M. Philo A note from Papa Don: By now, everyone knows the three legs of the Reptile© Stool: Rules, Codes and Spreading the Tentacles of Danger. This blog addresses rules and the next guest blog will address more on the spreading the tentacles of danger. Many of you believe that rules are a […]
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REPTILE AUTOPSY: REPTILE SUPERSTAR BLAKE JOHNSON
By Michael Peterson, KLF This month’s Reptile© Superstar is Blake Johnson. Blake has been practicing law for the past two years, proudly practicing with Utah Reptile© trial lawyer and Keenan Ball College (KBC) faculty member Ron Kramer. Outside of the law, Blake has a two-year-old daughter who is the light of his life. FACTS OF […]
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THE PASSION QUESTION CLARIFIED
By Don Keenan As with a lot of stuff I do, if it’s new, it takes a while to settle. In the interim, some folk go off the reservation and they either don’t end up with the intended results or they make matters worse. Let me take this all down the road a bit… In […]
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SIMON v. CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1947
By Melvin Belli Note from Papa Don: Recently we highlighted the 1965 Notre Dame Law Review article by an early great, Harry Philo, which went into great detail on rules. Fellow woodpecker Ryan McNulty of Chicago was kind enough to forward a 1947 California appellate case by another early great, Melvin Mouron Belli (July 29, 1907 […]
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MOI; THE SILENT NUCLEAR BOMB
By Don Keenan Many times I’ve written about the power of non-verbal persuasion. The power is vested, because Bubba does not need to accept you as an off-code lawyer and of equal importance. All studies ever done have shown that visuals far outweigh verbal in communication persuasion. Most often, the studies conclude verbal alone gets […]
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REPTILE AUTOPSY: REPTILE SUPERSTAR TODD BARSUMIAN
By Michael Peterson, Keenan Law Firm This month’s Reptile© Superstar is Todd Barsumian. In 2010, Todd started his plaintiff injury firm, Barsumian Law LLC, where he focuses on personal injury and wrongful death cases. FACTS OF THE CASE Todd’s client was on the phone with a friend, reading book titles off the shelf at a […]
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