In this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, host Michael Cowen interviews David Craig, a seasoned truck accident lawyer from Indianapolis. They discuss David’s journey into truck accident law, the unique challenges of these cases, and the importance of knowledge and mastery in the field. David shares insights from interviewing truck drivers, the role of rapid response teams in preserving evidence, and effective strategies for transitioning from a referral-based practice to direct consumer marketing. He also offers valuable advice for aspiring truck accident lawyers, emphasizing the importance of education, trial experience, and building relationships within the industry.
-
151 – Alex Begum – $2.1 Million Verdict in a Tough Case
Build “top mind awareness” for your law firm to get the PI cases you actually want. Then focus on what’s-in-it-for-the-jury to win them.
In this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, host Michael Cowen welcomes Alex Begum, the founding shareholder of Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers. Alex shares his journey towards mastering the business side of law, emphasizing the importance of financial acumen and creating a strong brand presence for law firm success.
He also recounts the challenges behind a personal injury case he tried and the strategies he used to win a $2.17M judgment, highlighting the use of “judo law” to turn weaknesses into strengths, and the critical role of visual aids in demonstrating injuries to the jury in a low property damage case. Additionally, Alex shares how he motivates the jury to do justice, tapping into what really matters to them.
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: Alex Begum
About: Alex Begum is the founding shareholder of Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers, which has offices in San Antonio, Brownsville, Dallas, McAllen, Laredo, and Albuquerque. A licensed attorney in Texas and New Mexico, his career in law began in 2003 – born from a desire to help others. This desire has not abated. The art of giving is something that Alex practices so routinely that it has become an integral part of his professional and personal life. His special interest in pro bono cases has been put to good use. His willingness to serve others, along with his knowledge and experience, saved an entire Texas community when they faced the probable loss of their homes.
Company: Begum Law Group Injury Lawyers | LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[04:41] Balancing both the business of law and trying cases: Alex runs multiple PI law firms and also tries cases himself. There aren’t many people that can do both. Alex shares that it’s taken a lot of time and effort to get the balance right, and the journey still continues.
[07:43] How to develop as a trial lawyer: “You learn more from your losses than you do from your wins.” Go try as many cases as you can, realize that the learning never stops, and while you can get “beautiful nuggets” from what other trial lawyers do, in the end you have to use strategies in a way that is authentic to you.
[11:35] From running a traditional law firm to creating a sustainable business: The key is understanding financials: a business plan, projections, budgeting, establishing financial patterns, how to use debt effectively. Many lawyers don’t have those financial skills, but you need to develop basic financial acumen to succeed.
[13:42] Your law firm needs “top mind awareness” to get the cases you want: It doesn’t matter whether it’s a law firm or soda, when marketing to consumers, familiarity is always going to win out when you look at the studies.
[18:09] Background of the Michelle Gibbons case: Alex shares background information about his personal injury case that resulted in a $2.17M judgment. It was a three vehicle crash. But it was a more difficult case because you couldn’t see any damage to his client’s vehicle and his client didn’t go to the hospital or report any pain the day of the crash.
[21:59] Frame weaknesses into strengths: You have to find a way to frame your worst points into your strengths, or find another person to try the case, or settle. Alex credits Gary Johnson’s Winning the Unwinnable Case for teaching him the technique of “judo law” which he and his team use on every trial. He shares how he applied this technique to the Michelle Gibbons case.
[24:29] Overcoming minimal vehicle damage: Using visual aids and expert testimony can help jurors visualize how injuries occur, even in a low property damage case.
[34:00] Future damages: Alex talks about the potential risks associated with using life care planners, sharing that “our new policy is unless there is an actual fusion surgery or larger, we will not use a life care planner anymore.”
[39:50] Motivating the jury to do justice: Juries are powerful. Alex shares how he was inspired by Carl Bettinger’s Twelve Heroes, One Voice. Make the jurors the heroes, and encourage them to see their verdict as a heroic act for the community’s safety and well-being.
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.
-
142 – Ed Ciarimboli – Visuals, Sequencing, and Zoom: Ed Ciarimboli on Trying Cases Post-COVID
Trying cases is an evolving process. And if you’ve been doing the same thing for 25 years, you’ve probably been doing something wrong for the past 24 years. From shorter jury attention spans, to Zooming in experts, to condensing information, and incorporating more visuals, courtroom trial techniques and jury expectations have changed significantly following COVID.
On this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, host Michael Cowen speaks with Ed Ciarimboli, a trial lawyer out of Pennsylvania who’s tried close to 100 cases since the beginning of his career.
Tune in to hear Ed share how his approach to trials has changed in the post-COVID world and get his tips on how to adapt your trial strategies to “move the needle toward victory.” And how can you overcome the fear of losing cases? Get comfortable with yourself and realize that there are things that you can control and things you can not.
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: Ed Ciarimboli
Ed Ciarimboli is a founding partner in the Eastern Pennsylvania law firm of Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law P.C. Ed concentrates his practice on trucking and auto collision and medical malpractice litigation. He is Board Certified by the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys and Board Certified in Truck Accident Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Ed has been selected for inclusion in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® list every year since 2008.
Ed graduated from Wilkes University with a dual degree in political science and engineering and applied science. He earned his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Ed served as a law clerk to the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Company: Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law P.C.
Connect: LinkedIn
Episode Highlights
[08:36] Learning and evolving: Ed views trying cases as an art where you’re always pushing the envelope and trying new things, some of which will work and some will not. He says that if you’re always doing things the same way, “you’re not learning and evolving.”
[10:31] Getting over fear: Throughout the course of his practice, Ed has learned that a big part of getting over the fear of losing cases or not doing well at trial is accepting that there are things that are in your control and things that are not.
[12:41] Don’t talk to jurors afterwards: Ed follows the advice once given to him by a judge, which is to never talk to jurors after a case regardless of the outcome.
[16:51] Take care of yourself first: Ed’s advice on dealing with stress is to take care of yourself first, both mentally and physically.
[19:34] Using visual summaries: One of the things Ed learned while trying cases during COVID was to condense large volumes of information into visual summaries so that the jury can get all the information they need to make a decision, and to do it quickly, and in a way that leaves an impression.
[29:44] Zooming into the courtroom: Pre-COVID, Ed rarely used Zoom. Now Zoom is commonplace and jurors expect it, especially with expert witnesses.
[31:12] Move quickly but not in a hurry: Post-Covid, juror attention spans and trials have gotten shorter. Give the jury the information they need to make a favorable decision and don’t waste their time.
[39:32] Jury selection and masks: Jurors who wear masks can be polarizing and impact the group dynamic of a jury. Both Michael and Ed don’t select jurors who wear a mask.
[41:00] Sharing resources: Ed graciously shares a PowerPoint presentation that he’s done on visual aids. You can download the presentation here.
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.
-
120 – Malorie Peacock – How To Grow Your Law Firm
Odds are, growing a law firm wasn’t built into your law school’s curriculum. You may be a fantastic lawyer, you may start a top-notch small firm, but if you’re setting out to scale what you’ve built then you will find a whole new set of challenges to tackle.
If you’re contemplating growing your firm or in the midst of the process, this episode is for you.
In episode 120, Michael Cowen is joined by Malorie Peacock, his fellow Partner & Trial Lawyer at Cowen, Rodriguez and Peacock PC about how to grow a law firm. On this episode of Trial Lawyer Nation, Michael and Malorie outline the mindset needed to start and grow a law firm, the pains and joys of scaling your firm from solo to the next stage, how navigate working with a consultant, how to manage and work with your team, tips on marketing efforts, and much more.
Featured Guest
Name: Malorie 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: Partner And Trial Lawyer, Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock PC
Connect: Linkedin
Episode Highlights
[03:01] Not Every Attorney Try To Have A Bigger Firm: Malorie reveals that it’s not the best fit for everyone to have a large firm. Solo firms and small firms are great options depending on your career goals.
[09:15] Creating Systems Of Accountability In Your Business: As you are looking to manage your business health, also gauge your personal and team accountability.
[13:05] You have to learn to give up control over certain things as your firm grows: How Michael and Sonia have kept up with their team’s needs with a changing job market.
[26:49] Managing your team, especially with new lawyers: When working with a team, learning to adjust behaviors and expectations is imperative for a healthy team culture.
[38:09] How to balance being an exceptional lawyer with an exceptional law practice: Although your time is eaten up by running a law firm business, there are many methods and practices that you can apply to balance the law firm with practicing law yourself.
[42:24] Best practices for coaching team members: It can be difficult telling a team member you don’t like what they do, but by using radical candor you can help a team member be better for them and for the rest of the team.
[40:32] Hiring for the things you don’t want to do: One of the keys to balance is to hire a great team to handle the business side of a law firm so you can focus on the practice side.
Connect with Trial Lawyer Nation
☑️ Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & LinkedIn.
☑️ Subscribe to Trial Lawyer Nation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or 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.
