102 â Michael Leizerman â The Value of Life: Understanding What Was Taken
In this episode of the Trial Lawyer Nation podcast, Michael Cowen sits down with the Zen Lawyer, Michael Leizerman, for his second time on the show. Theyâll cover the importance of language in trial, the difference between something being âtakenâ vs. âlost,â connecting with your client, Leizermanâs upcoming Zen Lawyer workshop, and so much more.
The episode begins with Cowen asking Leizerman how heâs doing, then immediately retracting the question because he just asked it. Leizerman says this is actually the perfect way to begin the episode, because theyâre going to talk about habits. Phrases like âpain and suffering,â harms and losses,â and others have become the go-to for trial lawyers everywhere – but that doesnât mean theyâre the most effective phrases to communicate your clientâs injuries. Instead, Leizerman encourages you to think about it a different way; how the defendant took something from your client.Â
Diving into further detail, Leizerman uses the example of how you feel when you lose your phone, versus when someone took your phone. When someone takes something from someone else, you feel like they need to either give it back or compensate them for their loss. In the personal injury world, there is no way for the defendant to give back what they took, so they must pay the value of what was taken.
This strategy also changes how the jurors see it. Jurors know itâs wrong for someone to take something. When you give them an active wrongdoer, and describe what they took, it can be very powerful.
Next, Leizerman shares the importance of describing what the defendant took from your client. This goes much deeper than the medical diagnosis, where most lawyers stop. If the client canât work anymore or canât play little league with their daughter, this goes down to the very state of their being, and you need to make this very clear to the jury.
â[The juryâs] sole job is to put a value on what was taken from [my client].â â Michael Leizerman
This discussion naturally flows into a topic frequently covered on the podcast – the case is about what we choose to make it about. Using the example of a herniated disc case, where the defense almost always claims there was degeneration prior to the incident, Cowen describes how he uses the treating doctorâs deposition to describe what the clientâs life was like before the incident and what was taken from them. Leizerman loves this example and describes how he uses the defenseâs medical expert to make the same point brilliantly, citing an impressive recent $10,988,000 jury verdict in a herniated disc case.
After discussing why itâs so important to spend time with a client in their own home, they transition to the concept called âcompanioning,â where you are present for someoneâs pain without trying to fix it. Leizerman shares a deeply personal experience with his mother, who is currently in hospice, where he held her hand and sat with her for a long time. Applying this to lawyering, Leizerman says he has many phone calls with the client where he only speaks about 5% of the time. He simply listens, lets them speak, and every time they thank him for the conversation.
Cowen then adds that one of the greatest self-imposed sufferings in his life has been his âneed to fix.â Over the years, he has gone on a journey to accept that his job is not to fix – itâs to get the client as much money as he can. Leizerman deeply relates to this feeling and gives it the term âempathetic distress.â Flipping the script, Leizerman then asks Cowen to dig a little deeper into how heâs coped with his need to fix. He gives an insightful answer and shares a meaningful example from a recent wrongful death trial, where the verdict gave the spouse such a feeling of validation. Leizerman agrees and had a very similar trial recently, where simply being heard was the most important thing for the client.
âMy job is to reduce suffering in the world, and that includes reducing suffering in my own life.â â Michael Leizerman
Cowen then asks Leizerman what skills he has used to comfort people who are grieving. Leizerman describes how he is truly present with his client in their pain and aware of their energy. He recognizes the concept of energy may sound âwackyâ to some, but he believes it works for him and makes a real difference in his connection with his clients. This has served him well in depos, where the defense will want to take a break as soon as his client begins crying or showing strong emotion. The clients feel supported enough to continue through the tears and pain of that moment, often resulting in a very powerful deposition.
They end the episode by discussing Leizermanâs workshop on Zen meditation. Cowen has attended before, and credits it to a huge jump in his skills and mindset. It has helped him be more present in the moment and make him an overall happier person. Leizerman appreciates this, and adds that Zen Buddhism is non-theistic and not about being calm all the time, but being truly present in a moment. Michael Cowen encourages all lawyers listening, especially lawyers with some experience under their belt, to attend.
Michael Leizermanâs next workshop will be held October 19th-22nd in Toledo, Ohio. You can learn more about the workshop and register here.
This podcast episode also covers why you shouldnât beat yourself up when you misspeak in trial, why you need to tie the wrongdoing to what was taken, the details of both Cowen and Leizermanâs most recent wrongful death trials, why itâs important to look for non-portrait photos of your client before the incident, Michael Cowenâs experience at Michael Leizermanâs Zen workshop, and much more.
Guest Bio:
Michael Leizerman is a partner at The Law Firm for Truck Safety, which handles truck accident litigation across the United States. He is the co-founder of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA). He concentrates his practice in select catastrophic injury truck collision cases across the country.
Michael was the first Chair of AAJâs Trucking Litigation Group. He and his wife and law partner, Rena, wrote the 4,000+ page treatise Litigating Truck Accident Cases. Together, they also spearheaded efforts in partnership with the NBTA and the ATAA to obtain the first and only American Bar Association-accredited board certification in truck accident law in the country.
Michael has taken 13 truck and bus cases to trial since 2006. He has received record-breaking truck accident settlements and verdicts across the country, including multiple verdicts with punitive damages. He and his firm have received multi-million-dollar results in over 50 settlements and verdicts.
Michael is also the author of the Trial Guides book The Zen Lawyer: Winning with Mindfulness, published in 2018.