A $30,000 offer from Geico. A $400,000 jury verdict. All coming after a client who gave what Jesse Baez calls the, "worst deposition ever!"

Trial lawyer Jesse Baez tells the story of the case that became not only a tremendous learning experience, but the genesis of his very firm. From their backs against the wall to a remarkably successful conclusion, there are inspiring lessons throughout.

A key theme of our conversation today is the importance of having a strong team, each member drawing on their strengths, to reach successful outcomes in cases. Most lawyers have done some sort of bootstrapping on their own, everything from handling intake to fixing the office printer. But not only is that unsustainable, it doesn't give you the time and energy to focus on why you're there in the first place: getting the results for your clients.

We talk about the role of AI in law firms, and the undoubtedly useful efficiencies that it adds to the complex process of pursuing a case.

But at the end of the day, it has to still be real humans in a real courtroom, talking to a real jury, before a real judge. And that is summed up by maintaining a willingness to go into the courtroom, to pursue justice, and make a genuine difference.

Because there's simply no greater rush.

"When you're front of a jury, it's like having a scale. And each point of evidence is a rock on the scale. You just don't know what's going to be the rock that turns the scale one way or the other." - Jess Baez

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ Why nervous clients go off script.
◼️ How Virginia's Contributory Negligence and Last Clear Chance rules shape a case.
◼️ How to boil a case down to a movie tagline.
◼️ The importance of intake and screening cases: looking for facts, going beneath the surface.
◼️ How to guide and educate the jury so they understand what they need to do.
◼️ Viewing closing argument as "teaching with jury instructions," with passion saved for rebuttal.

Chapters

0:00 Using Family to Tell the Pain and Suffering Story
4:57 The Worst Deposition Ever
7:25 Asking for Help and Turning the Case Around
8:19 The $400,000 Verdict and the Birth of the Firm
14:12 Lessons Learned: Mentors and Asking for Help
20:33 Handling Contributory Negligence with Family Witnesses
26:05 Get Your Courtroom Reps
33:15 Framing the Case with a Movie Tagline
38:11 Planning the Closing Argument
41:34 Closing as Teaching: Using Jury Instructions
47:30 Making Yourself an Option

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

We’ve talked about it before on the podcast (and it will surely come up again): you have to look after your health and wellbeing if you want to succeed long term as a trial lawyer.

We all know how easy it is to work the long hours, put in that extra push to midnight after the kids are in bed, neglect sleep and exercise, and let our work become all-consuming. And that’s not including the temptations of bad diet and alcohol that constantly surround us.

Longevity medicine is the study of health as a long-term investment, rather than a crisis response. Dr. Jonathan Schaaf specializes in this growing area of study, and breaks down the three-part longevity model he uses.

We talk about the difference between traditional insurance-based care and cash-based models like direct primary care, where physicians can spend more time and order more appropriate testing.

And why basics like sleep, movement, nutrition, and stress management still matter most.

Longevity is really about looking after your overall health, and being preventative and proactive. We may badge it as, "living longer," or, "live to 100," but the fundamental principle is putting yourself in the best position to achieve that, however it may ultimately work out.

If this is you: "It's time I take my health seriously," then you’ll find this episode hits home with clarity and actionable advice.

"The most important things you're doing are diet and exercise, sleep and mental health. That's the foundation. If you don't have that in place, there's no peptide, there's no supplement, there's nothing else that's going to offset those bad habits." - Dr. Jonathan Schaaf

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ The patient story that pushed Dr. Schaaf toward longevity medicine: a 32-year-old man with who was later found to have metastatic adrenal cancer.
◼️ Why Dr. Schaaf's goal is not just to help people live longer, but to help them live well.
◼️ Why insurance often discourages preventive testing.
◼️ How AI is being used to build a kind of "digital twin" of a patient.
◼️ Dr. Schaaf's core supplement philosophy: start with the basics, use testing to guide decisions.

Chapters

00:00 Foundations of Longevity
06:40 The Reactive Healthcare System
18:37 Understanding Longevity: A Crash Course
25:03 The Importance of Lifestyle Factors
29:01 The Role of AI in Longevity
39:27 Investing in Your Health
40:45 Supplement Ideas for Longevity
52:36 Reflections on Medical Practice

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

Trial lawyer Michael Karp talks about how focus groups reshaped his case preparation and trial strategy. Michael and Sharif Gray examine a difficult slip-and-fall case that resulted in a $12 million award, and why Mike now uses focus groups to evaluate cases, sharpen arguments, and prepare for trial. The conversation explores how to uncover a case’s weaknesses, use skeptical jurors to stress-test liability and damages, and build strategy around what could make a case lose—not only what might make it win. A $50,000 injury animation initially seemed compelling, but feedback showed it could lead jurors to focus on the client’s steps and shift attention toward blame. The conversation covers consistent questions, mock deliberations, and how focus-group insights can inform voir dire, opening statements, witness preparation, and closing arguments. https://csgtrials.com/our-team/andrew-garza/ RVA Trial Lawyers, Sharif Gray, https://rvatriallawyers.com/

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

What if you were confident that a $350K settlement could become a $9 million verdict, because you could predict that number before the trial?

Connecticut trial lawyer Andrew Garza reveals how big data turned a difficult premises liability case into the largest verdict ever seen in that courthouse - and why most plaintiff lawyers are still leaving money on the table.

Andrew breaks down what “big data” actually is, how it differs from traditional focus groups, and why it gave his team the confidence to try a contested case that many firms would have hesitated to touch. In his example today, a case that was heading for settlement was a challenge for the plaintiff's side, because the valuation was very difficult to assess.

Thanks to the inputs of data, the team gained so much clarity on a figure that what they ended up receiving, $9 million, was just $300k less than what the data predicted they would get.

It's a question of trust, commitment, confidence in your case and simplifying trial strategy. Tools like these can make a huge difference in getting you over the finish line, in a massive way.

" We believed in the case, but we really didn't want to guess on value. We wanted to understand what we should ask for, what the best way to do that was. And so we decided to run our first big data study." - Andrew Garza

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ How big data studies test both plaintiff and defense narratives across hundreds of participants.
◼️ Why the team narrowed a complex case into a short, clean 1.5-day presentation.
◼️ What the data revealed about damages, jury selection, and even which juror profiles helped them.
◼️ How they used the study to challenge assumptions about geography, politics, and “typical” jurors.
◼️ Why asking for too little can be just as dangerous as asking for too much.

Chapters

00:00 Case Value: A $9 Million Verdict
04:58 What Big Data Reveals
11:27 The Water Park Injury Case
19:53 Building Confidence in the Data
23:25 Trying a Shorter, Stronger Case
32:04 Keeping Sympathy Out of the Verdict
38:01 Do Local Jurors Really Differ?
41:34 How to Get Started with Big Data

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

There are times when contributory negligence laws can become a gift to the plaintiff.

You need to recognize the signs and, of course, have a strong case, but if the facts are there, the defense's own arguments can help shape your win.

Ben Rand's firm recently took on a trip & fall case in Virginia that, on the surface, had strong facts, yet was a certainty to run headlong into Virginia's contributory negligence laws. In Virginia, this means that if it can be demonstrated that the plaintiff was even 1% responsible for the situation, then the case will likely be dismissed.

As a result, Ben and Sharif were repeatedly warned by colleagues that the case had little hope of succeeding.

And yet, the facts were strong, the evidence was there, the witnesses would prove to be outstanding, and as the trial unfolded, it became clear that the defense's approach was starting to backfire.

Ben, Sharif and guest co-host Nathan Hittle talk about the mindset of approaching cases such as this, how to stay focused, unflustered, use "negative space" cross-examination, and recognize, in real time, a trial evolving in your direction.

The result? A $1.5m verdict in the plaintiff's favor.

It's so much easier when they don't make an offer that's respectable. It's hard when they make an offer where you're like, "Can we beat this at trial? I don't know." And then if we don't beat it, we've left all this money on the table." - Ben Rand

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ Why Virginia’s 'pure contributory negligence' rule makes premises cases especially high-risk for plaintiffs.
◼️ The reaction when a key witness called the store's entrance mat a “booby trap.”
◼️ What happened when the defense challenged the medical bills.
◼️ What is "negative space” cross-examination, demonstrating a witnesses' bias, lack of knowledge, and weak foundation.
◼️ Why the trial was deliberately streamlined and completed in one day.
◼️ The importance of slowing down, staying focused on core themes, and not chasing every defense argument.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: When Settlement Offers Matter
06:19 Why Trip-and-Fall Cases are Hard in Virginia
14:51 The Flipped Mat, Sliding Doors, and the Mechanics of the Fall
18:51 Trying the Case in One Day
23:21 The Cross-Examination Strategy That Exposed the Billing Expert
31:41 When Defense Arguments Backfire
39:59 Trial Advocacy: Slow Down and Stay Focused
45:10 Setting Boundaries so the Job Does Not Take Over Your Life

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

Isn't it remarkable how there are certain types of cases that necessitate entire practice areas in law? Inevitably, these are cases that involve some mixture of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or all of the above. And sadly, nursing home abuse is one of these areas.

When Kristen Lojewski happened into this field in 2021, she recognized that as much as she had been personally impacted by such a case, she could use that emotion to deeply understand and empathize with her clients' situations and indignation.

Repeated falls often go ignored until a resident suffers a major injury, usually a hip fracture, then followed by a rapid decline. Kristen breaks down the business model behind many nursing facilities, including private equity ownership, and money being routed away from resident care, all of which lead to declining care. The staff in turn are stretched thin trying to keep up with cutbacks and understaffing, creating a vicious circle.

And yet, defense strategies usually rely on dementia, Alzheimer’s or limited life expectancy, to minimize damages and shift blame away from the facility.

It's a deplorable situation, yet like with sex assault cases or negligent security cases, it's all too common.

Kristen is also a graduate of the Gerry Spence Method at Thunderhead Ranch in Wyoming, and her and Sharif talk about their shared experiences there, learning not just trial skills and strategies, but how to emphasize authenticity, good listening, and making a genuine connection with witnesses. A comment from Joe Low ended up changing her career trajectory and self-confidence, drawing a straight line to the firm under her own name that she operates today.

"It  hits differently when  trial lawyers who are very seasoned, very successful, aren't trying to get me to be a  male trial lawyer who's seasoned and successful. They're just like, 'Be you. Who you are is enough.' And that has shaped how I am, in my current practice at my firm." - Kristen Lojewski

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ What nursing home abuse and neglect cases typically look like, including falls, choking incidents, pressure wounds, and wrongful death claims.
◼️ The main defense themes in these cases, especially the idea that an elderly resident “was going to die anyway,” or had comorbidities that supposedly explain the outcome.
◼️ How in Wisconsin, prior incident reports and state investigation reports are inadmissible, which can make pattern-and-practice proof harder to present to a jury.
◼️ How the Gerry Spence ranch pushed her to stop “playing small,” and ultimately helped inspire her to start her own firm.

Chapters

0:00 Understanding Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
5:02 The Journey from Prosecutor to Plaintiff’s Attorney
10:04 The Importance of Advocacy for the Elderly
15:13 Challenges in Nursing Home Litigation
19:57 Defensive Strategies in Nursing Home Cases
25:15 Understanding Patterns of Negligence in Nursing Homes
30:37 The Impact of the Gerry Spence Ranch on Legal Practice

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

David Holt had put in the years of hard, emotional work pursuing justice and accountability as a state prosecutor in Hampton, Virginia, litigating hundreds of jury trials. He was involved in multiple complex murder and gang-related cases, putting criminals in jail in cases that could take years.

And so when the offer came to join a personal injury law firm, it represented a major shift from not just the work but the life he had been living. Long days, unpredictable schedule, lots of travel and stress. Rewarding work, with deep impacts on the community and the state, but it was time for a change.

David then realized that civil litigation work is indeed not so far removed from public prosecution. It has many of the same skills, processes and workflows, relationships and collaborations, and very much the same objectives: to deliver accountability, to create deterrents, to help justice be served.

14 years since that shift, David has had a rewarding, influential and impactful career, his results including a $10M verdict in Oklahoma for a fork lift explosion TBI case, a $14.5M settlement for a woman with a brain injury, two days into trial, and a $12.2M record slip-and-fall verdict for TBI in Virginia.

But the ultimate reward?  The people, the relationships and remembering the lives that are impacted by everything that we do, every day.

"For me, as prosecutors, it's keep cutting your teeth, being hungry, being aggressive in what you do, seek justice. This is just a different way of doing it." - David Holt

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ Why prosecution and personal injury law are more similar than they first appear.
◼️ The challenge of moving from representing the Commonwealth to representing one person or family, with very personal stakes.
◼️ Why David initially resisted PI work because of billboard-style advertising, and how he came to embrace a more respectful form of marketing.
◼️ Remembering, “This is their only case,” and why that perspective changes everything.
◼️ Guest co-host Shea Gibbons' transition from federal prosecutor to civil plaintiff lawyer and what that shift has felt like so far.

Chapters

00:00 The Lives Impacted by Our Work
03:47 From Police Officer to Prosecutor
13:42 Moving Into Plaintiff Work
28:55 The Caleb Case and Client Impact
31:47 “This is their only case”
34:03 The One Thing That is Truly Constant
41:49 What Prosecutors Should Know About Plaintiff Work
46:06 CrossFit as Mental Health Training and Courtroom Preparation

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki

A reluctant witness, a freezing 3 a.m. wake-up, and one parking-lot conversation that saved a client $9.5 million: this episode shows why the right investigator can change the entire outcome of a case.

Sally Tierney is a professional investigator, working with law firms to uncover facts, evidence, answers and the stories behind the case. It's thrilling and fascinating work, all the more so when you learn about Sally's motivation for becoming a professional investigator in the first place. That painful experience led to a complete 180 career change, out of left field, and she tells us all about it.

Investigators play a critical role in criminal defense, personal injury and civil litigation. Sally shares how a thorough investigation can uncover key facts, strengthen a case, or even reveal when a case should not move forward.

And then there are the psychological questions of getting witnesses to open up, of knowing when and how to keep pushing for that breakthrough conversation, and of knowing what it means to truly listen. A skill that is equally crucial for lawyers.

Sally shares how tenacity, not just intelligence, drives great investigative work, and why the lawyers who use investigators well are often the ones who build stronger cases, make better settlement decisions, and protect their clients earlier.

"The answers are, one way or another, good or bad for your client, right? You want to find them out. You don't want to only find them out because the other side did their job." - Sally Tierney

In this episode, we discuss:

◼️ Why every case can benefit from early investigation, even when the evidence may hurt your position.
◼️ How Sally gets reluctant witnesses to talk.
◼️ The difference between asking questions and truly listening.
◼️ Why in-person contact often gets results that phone calls and Zoom never will.
◼️ How investigators help lawyers uncover missing video, witnesses, police report errors, and critical details before it is too late.

Chapters

0:00 Why Professional Investigators Matter
5:26 The Case That Saved $9.5 Million
11:58 What Real Listening Looks Like
16:14 Why Every Case Needs Investigation Early
28:09 Purpose, Power, and Helping the Wrongly Accused
33:43 The Weirdest Parts of the Job
36:35 Why Going to the Scene Matters
40:39 What an Investigation Looks Like in Practice
44:02 AI as a Research Assistant
46:51 Anxiety as a Useful Tool
49:01 How to Reach Sally Tierney

Courtroom Stories & Tactics | RVA Trial Lawyers
Available on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and at RVATrialLawyers.com

Based out of Richmond, Virginia, Courtroom Stories & Tactics by RVA Trial Lawyers exists for lawyers who try cases to juries on behalf of people. Through our podcast, we hope to learn from them, support them, connect them, inspire them, and preserve their work for future trial lawyers.

If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate it if you left us a 5-Star Google Review by clicking here. Your review will help people find us.

Thank you!

Sharif Gray and Nael Abouzaki