Three decades as a trial lawyer; 30 trials; more than $3 billion in verdicts and settlements; thriving practices: Ask Mike Alder how he does it, and his answer is simple.
“Take a cold shower and make your bed.”
Make your bed, every day, because it teaches the discipline a trial lawyer needs. Prefer a warm shower? Take a cold one anyway, because stepping outside your comfort zone prepares a trial lawyer for dealing with stressful situations.
In this wide-ranging conversation with host Michael Cowen, Mike reflects on the personal habits (meditating on a spiked mat) and professional strategies (doing small disciplines over time) that have contributed to his success. Tune in to learn his equation for excellence, recipe for losing your life, and daily routines. They’ve taken years to develop, “but now, I’m cooking with gas, and that is what it takes.”
Featured Guest
Name: Mike Alder
About: Mike is owner and senior trial attorney at AlderLaw, a leading Los Angeles firm that represents plaintiffs in personal injury, business torts, and employment litigation cases. He pursues all cases on behalf of his clients who have suffered injustices.
Connect: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Email
Episode Highlights
[01:33] “It’s a Good Living”: Over a three-decade career, Mike has 30 trials to his credit, with more than $3 billion in verdicts and settlements.
[03:34] Paying It Forward: Mike runs a program in which he pays half of a new lawyer’s trial costs and preparation costs if they agree not to settle for cheap, but rather try the case.
[07:33] Letting Go: Establishing his own firm, Mike discovered that he couldn’t handle both operations and big trials, so he learned to accept what he’s good at and hire the right people for other roles.
[11:10] Equation for Excellence: “Excellence equals consistent, mostly ordinary behavior done over time to create good habits that you combine with other good habits that make you excellent,” Mike says.
[17:03] A Good Pain: Mike swears by his spiked meditation mat because it “focuses the hell out of you.”
[20:14] Dirty Words: Don’t say “work-life balance” in front of Mike or his wife. They believe the expression implies that “if I take this, then I take away from the other.” In fact, they say, you can “have it all” as long as you make priority decisions at certain times.
[26:54] The Common Denominator: Mike recently added a workers’ compensation practice that often crosses into employment law. Ultimately, “it’s all based around helping people.”
[29:18] “Per-chlor What?” When he took on a groundwater contamination case, Mike couldn’t pronounce the name of the chemical. But over time, he learned it, and he and the jury were speaking the same language.
Connect with Trial Lawyer Nation
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In this popular and award-winning podcast for trial lawyers, noteworthy author, sought-after speaker, and renowned trial lawyer, Michael Cowen explores critical topics distinctive to the legal profession with some of the biggest names in the industry – specifically focused on developing extremely efficient law practices, securing a competitive edge in the industry, and wildly excelling in the courtroom.
Produced and Sponsored by LawPods.
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132 – Malorie Peacock – The Hidden Power of Lay Witnesses
Lay witnesses. Whether you call them eyewitnesses, ‘before and after’ witnesses, or damages witnesses, you need them to help you make your case. And sometimes the most unexpected ordinary people can be the greatest witnesses.
“There’s obvious ones like the spouse or the children or family members of your plaintiff. But beyond that, there’s coworkers, there’s neighbors, there’s the pastor, there’s the guy that runs a corner store at the end of the block, their kid’s teacher…it could be a whole universe of people out there.”
On this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, Michael Cowen and Malorie Peacock explore how to identify potential lay witnesses and the importance of building trust with these witnesses to ensure that they feel comfortable disclosing pertinent information. They also examine the importance of obtaining visual evidence, such as photos and videos, to make events more real for jurors. But when it comes to getting these lay witnesses, lawyers have to be willing to do the legwork.
Tune in to gain valuable insights and strategies for building a compelling case through effective lay witnesses.
Featured Guest
Name: Malorie J. Peacock
About: Malorie J. Peacock is a Partner at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock. She was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. During her time with Cowen Rodriguez Peacock, Malorie has worked on numerous commercial vehicle, trucking, and wrongful death cases. Malorie brings close attention to detail, commitment to finding safety issues and areas of neglect, continued utilization of technology and cutting-edge visuals in cases, along with a sincere passion to help those who have been hurt, to each and every case.
Company: Cowen Rodriguez PeacockConnect: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[03:28] Don’t call lay witnesses “moaners and groaners”: Labels and words matter because they impact client and staff mindset. Clients are supposed to be survivors and not victims.
[05:59] Bullseye of witness credibility: Michael emphasizes the need to go beyond the obvious best friends and family members when identifying witnesses.
[08:48] Demystifying the legal system for witnesses: Lay witnesses don’t have any experience with the legal system. What they know is what they see on TV and it’s super dramatic. So explaining that to them is important in order for them to be comfortable in sharing their stories.
[13:30] The magic number for lay witness selection: Michael explains their process for getting quality witnesses.
[14:21] How to build trust with lay witnesses: Michael and Malorie share their insights on what you need to do to find, meet, and earn the trust of lay witnesses, and whether you meet them individually or in a group setting.
[27:26] Extracting the best witness testimony: Michael and Malorie emphasizes the importance of tailoring questions to the witness, the nuances of guiding non-natural storytellers in describing experiences, and how exploring the before & after of the plaintiff’s life can provide a richer narrative for the court.
[29:23] Using visuals to connect, comfort, and convince: Learn how the use of visuals provided by lay witnesses not only contributes to the credibility of a witness’s testimony, but also serves as a tool to calm nervous witnesses and help them relate their story with more ease and confidence.
[33:01] Nobody gets the witnesses that lawyers get: While you may be able to have your paralegal get things started, putting in the work yourself can lead to the discovery of more witnesses and better witnesses to build a compelling case, understand your client’s story, and tell it at trial.
[35:37] The impact of early lay witness disclosure: Grasp how this strategy can shape the opposition’s perspective and recognize the dual role it plays – fostering comprehensive case readiness and sending a strong signal to the defense about your intentions.
Connect with Trial Lawyer Nation
☑️ Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to Trial Lawyer Nation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and YouTube.
In this popular and award-winning podcast for trial lawyers, noteworthy author, sought-after speaker, and renowned trial lawyer, Michael Cowen explores critical topics distinctive to the legal profession with some of the biggest names in the industry – specifically focused on developing extremely efficient law practices, securing a competitive edge in the industry, and wildly excelling in the courtroom.
Produced and Sponsored by LawPods.
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147 – Robert Disque – Are You a Trial Lawyer or Just a Litigator?
Empathy is an emotion not commonly associated with lawyers. But harnessing it can provide valuable insight.
On this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, Michael Cowen is joined by colleague Robert Disque who focuses his practice on 18-wheeler and commercial vehicle cases.
Tune in to hear Michael and Robert discuss Robert’s path to law, the difference between a litigator and a trial lawyer, and how to talk to clients about bad cases. Robert also shares how empathy led him from the defense side to the plaintiff’s side, and how empathy has helped him find common ground with opposing counsel. And how does Robert’s passion for gardening benefit him as a trial lawyer? It’s taught him patience and the willingness to accept mistakes.
Don’t miss out! Michael’s book, Big Rig Justice: A Comprehensive Guide to Maximizing Value in Truck Accident Cases is now available!
Featured Guest
Name: Robert Disque
About: Robert has been an associate attorney at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock since early 2018, concentrating on 18-wheeler and commercial vehicle cases involving death and catastrophic injury. He earned his undergraduate degree from Creighton University and subsequently attended Baylor Law School on a three-year, full-tuition academic scholarship. While at Baylor, Robert served as an Associate Editor of the Baylor Law Review and competed on several moot court teams.
Company: Cowen Rodriguez Peacock
Connect: Robert Disque
Episode Highlights
[2:43] The difference between a litigator and a trial lawyer. Law school teaches you the rules to work up cases and prepares you to be a litigator. Being a trial attorney is more about case presentation.
[7:13] Robert’s first case on the defense side. Robert was assigned a traumatic brain injury case involving an 18-wheeler that swerved into traffic.
[10:12] Empathy for defendants. Knowing that most truckers don’t want to get dragged into court can help you find common ground with the defense attorney.
[17:30] Dog cases. Some cases are simply bad and not much is not going to change leading up to trial.
[25:07] Radical Candor. When it comes to difficult conversations, a lot of pain can be avoided by being upfront, honest, and transparent early on.
[35:39] Rock analogy. Rocks represent the big things that move the ball forward on your biggest cases and water represents the small things that you can get bogged down on. It’s important to concentrate on the rocks.
[44:29] Robert’s gardening hobby. Robert discusses his love of gardening and analogizes it to being a trial lawyer.
Connect with Trial Lawyer Nation
☑️ Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to Trial Lawyer Nation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and YouTube.
In this popular and award-winning podcast for trial lawyers, noteworthy author, sought-after speaker, and renowned trial lawyer, Michael Cowen explores critical topics distinctive to the legal profession with some of the biggest names in the industry – specifically focused on developing extremely efficient law practices, securing a competitive edge in the industry, and wildly excelling in the courtroom.
Produced and Sponsored by LawPods.
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158 – Malorie Peacock – A Case is About the Jurors: Winning a Tough Wrongful Death Case
In trial, you have to be ready and just accept the fact that things are never going to be perfect. They’re never going to go the way you planned it.
In this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, Michael Cowen and Malorie Peacock share their strategies (as well as the hiccups they overcame) from their recent $4M verdict on a trucking wrongful death case, where only 10% of the fault was put on their client for rear-ending a tractor trailer. They detail how they “armed their experts” so that the jury wasn’t skeptical of expert testimony in this expert-heavy case. They also share how they successfully minimized comparative fault, and how they presented damages in a way that made an emotional impact. The episode wraps up with a discussion on the value of the healing aspect of the trial process for clients.
Don’t miss out! Big Rig Bootcamp takes place on July 12, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. Register at bigrigbootcamp.com.
Featured Guest
Name: Malorie J Peacock
About: Malorie J Peacock is a Partner at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock. She was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. During her time with Cowen Rodriguez Peacock, Malorie has worked on numerous commercial vehicle, trucking, and wrongful death cases. Malorie brings close attention to detail, commitment to finding safety issues and areas of neglect, continued utilization of technology and cutting-edge visuals in cases, along with a sincere passion to help those who have been hurt, to each and every case.
Company: Cowen Rodriguez Peacock
Connect: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[02:18] 30,000-Foot View of the Case: A driver of an 18 wheeler ran over something in a roadway that disconnected her airlines to her braking system in her truck. The driver panicked and stopped her vehicle on a major highway in Dallas at 10pm at night. Michael and Malorie’s client’s son didn’t see her in the roadway, and unfortunately, ran into her and died.
[07:15] Rehearsing Jury Selection and Opening Statement: In order to be seamless and avoid using a bunch of notes, you have to practice, says Malorie. Michael explains how they used the rehearsals to test their advocacy. Did people understand them? Was their story persuasive? Was their theory convincing? These rehearsals were right before trial and separate from the focus groups they did on the case.
[10:39] Challenges in Jury Selection: Due to the Court’s orders, Michael and Malorie couldn’t talk about the facts of the case and they couldn’t even say it was a trucking case or a wrongful death case. The judge was also still following COVID restrictions, so with social distancing between jurors and Michael and Malorie speaking from a podium, it was difficult to connect with jurors. However, they pivoted their strategy and made it work.
[21:05] The First Witness: Michael and Malorie called the defendant driver first. “We couldn’t call her a liar,” says Michael. “The jury needed to, through the course of the trial, come to their own conclusion that she was not telling the truth.”
[24:52] Strategy for an Expert-Intense Case: With all the expert testimony, Michael and Malorie didn’t want the jury to think ‘well, they’re just saying whatever they want because they paid them.’ To avoid that, Michael and Malorie armed their experts with anchors and testing.
[27:15] Demonstrating Airbrake Function: Michael and Malorie did their own testing where they got an 18 wheeler with a tractor and a trailer, and they pulled an airbrake when it was going 50-something miles per hour to show that it would not just make the truck immediately come to a stop, contrary to the defense’s story.
[31:54] Motivating the Jury to Award Damages: Malorie explains how you want enough witnesses to tell your story, but not so much that it’s emotionally exhausting for the jury, because if you exhaust the jury then they get annoyed with you.
[39:53] Comparative Fault Argument: Michael shares his unique approach of comparing the time each party had in the accident, which helped minimize their client’s percentage of fault.
[42:08] Damages Presentation: Malorie vividly describes her method of illustrating damages by physically tearing a picture of the deceased, to symbolize the persistent pain experienced by the parents.
[44:43] The Healing Aspect of Trial: Michael and Malorie touch on the healing aspect of the trial for the client, emphasizing the importance of clients being heard and validated.
Connect with Trial Lawyer Nation
☑️ Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to Trial Lawyer Nation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and YouTube.
In this popular and award-winning podcast for trial lawyers, noteworthy author, sought-after speaker, and renowned trial lawyer, Michael Cowen explores critical topics distinctive to the legal profession with some of the biggest names in the industry – specifically focused on developing extremely efficient law practices, securing a competitive edge in the industry, and wildly excelling in the courtroom.
Produced and Sponsored by LawPods.
