Rarely does a personal injury client walk in the door with a clean medical history. Aches, pains, complaints, chiropractic visits – “it’s just the reality of life,” says Sonia Rodriguez, host Michael Cowen’s colleague at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock.
In this conversation, Sonia and Michael discuss the art of strategically managing personal injury cases that involve preexisting conditions and subsequent incidents. Tune in for their insights about leveraging prior medical history, collateral witnesses, and creative tactics to secure successful outcomes.
Featured Guest
Name: Sonia Rodriguez
About: Sonia Rodriguez, a native of San Antonio, Texas, is a partner at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock. She has represented only plaintiffs for nearly 20 years, focusing on personal injury trial and appellate law. Beyond her practice, Sonia supports important civic and community causes, including the Young Women’s Leadership Academy and the SAISD Foundation.
Company: Cowen Rodriguez Peacock
Connect: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[03:39] Information Is Everywhere: Years ago, insurance adjusters had little access to a client’s medical past, but today, that information is readily available on robust databases.
[06:35] Quelling an “A-ha!” Moment: Anticipating that the defense lawyer would think he had an “a-ha!” moment when he discovered her client’s past neck surgery, Sonia told him at the outset.
[14:21] “SettLiT”: The team at Cowen Rodriguez Peacock has started using this new database that shows prior doctors, codes for treatment, and prescriptions.
[18:33] Pain in the Neck: Sonia welcomes clients who have a history of going to the doctor for every rash, headache, or eye twitch because “you can see this person would have gone to the doctor if they had pain in the neck or back.”
[23:35] What’s the Story? The plaintiff’s lawyer must look deeper than the client or medical records – to coworkers and family, supported by photos and videos if possible.
[25:05] Metadata: Always check a photo’s metadata to determine when it was taken: before or after the injury? The defense will.
[29:42] If Something Can Go Wrong… Move cases quickly, because, as Sonia says, “the longer you live with a case on a litigation docket, on a trial docket, the more chances there are of something going wrong.” Michael offers strategies for managing a client’s new claim.
[36:24] “Judo Law”: Client had a minor health issue before their injury? Take what the defense thinks is a strong point and turn it into yours.
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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
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☑️ 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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154 – Lara Brock – Whether in Trial or Arbitration, Compete to Win
“In order to be a good trial lawyer, you have to have that innate sense of ‘let’s go, I’m ready to go.’”
In this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, host Michael Cowen talks to seasoned trial lawyer Lara Brock of Espinoza & Brock, PLLC about her sports-oriented, competitive mindset that has influenced both how she practices law and serves as a leader within her law firm.
Tune in as Michael and Lara talk about why it’s important to shift from the “family” mindset to the “team” mindset within your law firm, how to find your own voice as a trial lawyer, and why Lara’s firm handles worker’s comp cases in Texas while few other law firms do. They also discuss the strategy behind her firm’s repeated success in arbitration, and what Lara looks for in third-party cases.
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: Lara Brock
About: Lara is a senior partner at Espinoza & Brock, PLLC in San Antonio, Texas. Lara has worked with the Espinoza Law Firm since March 2011 and has focused her practice on non-subscriber injury cases, third party injury cases, and employment discrimination and retaliation cases. In doing so, she has presented cases at trial, has presented cases to arbitrators with the American Arbitration Association and Judicial Workforce Arbitrations, and has presented written appeals and oral argument before the Fourth Court of Appeals. She serves as Treasurer of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association and President-Elect of the Bexar County Women’s Bar Association. In 2016, Lara founded the Women’s Caucus for the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association and is a steering committee member of the Women’s Caucus of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. From 2021 through 2023, Lara served as the Vice President of Continuing Legal Education for the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, she graduated sixth in her class from St. Mary’s University School of Law in May 2014. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Spanish from Carson-Newman University in Tennessee, graduating summa cum laude with honors.
Company: Espinoza & Brock, PLLC
Connect: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[03:37] Getting to Know Lara Brock: Lara knew from a young age that she wanted to compete every day so becoming a trial lawyer seemed like a natural fit. Lara is thrilled that she’s found a career where she can make a difference in real people’s lives, all while having a lot of fun.
[06:47] A Law Firm is Like a Sports Team: You have to perform if you want to be a part of the team. It’s hard to make the shift from thinking of your law firm as a “family” to a “team” but it really does pay off when you do it.
[11:09] “I’m Not Going to Let You Win”: It was a roofing fall case. Lara’s client was working for a “sub of a sub” on a roof and walked right off the edge. It was a flat roof, no fall protection. “I don’t care that my client’s undocumented, he shouldn’t have fallen off that roof. You chose not to have these protections and we’re going to go tell a story,” says Lara about a case where she got a $4.5M verdict where defense pulled the offer. The case is currently up on appeal.
[16:14] Ask “Why?”: Lara shares how she’s found her own voice as a trial lawyer. She learned early on that just imitating another’s lawyer’s way of doing things wasn’t the route to success.
[22:53] There’s No Such Thing as “Work-Life Balance”: From building a great practice, to taking on leadership roles in the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association, and the Bexar County Women’s Bar Foundation, Lara shares that getting buy-in from everyone around her has been key to her success.
[26:18] Few Firms Do Workers’ Comp Cases in Texas, But Lara’s Does: When asked how her firm is able to do worker’s comp cases in Texas despite the limited fees, Lara responds, “Because that’s our purpose, that’s our base. We also found that a lot of times people just think that it’s a workers’ comp case and it’s not, and we started learning that we could help people in more than one way.”
[31:26] Plaintiff Lawyers Have Success in Arbitration Too: Lara shares “Just as big box retailers or companies that are frequently in arbitration find success, so do plaintiff’s lawyers…We have such a large practice of these arbitration cases that we also have some power with arbitrators because they know that we can keep them from getting business too, if they want to screw our clients over.”
[35:46] Third-Party Cases: A third-party case is where you’re suing someone other than the employer for a workplace injury. Lara explains the things she looks for when taking on these cases.
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.
