Episode 85
September 23, 2026
Finding the Moral Core: Why Facts Alone Won’t Win Your Trial (and What Will)
Episode Summary
What separates a pile of good facts from a winning case? Drawing on Trials and Triumphs: Lessons from Legal Giants by Chris Placitella and Lisa Blue, host Brendan Lupetin explores a shared lesson from trial lawyers Pat Malone, Keith Mitnik, and Mark Mandell: winning cases need a clear moral core that actually motivates jurors, not just strong facts. He walks through Greg Cusimano’s seven-step, bottom-up approach to building a trial story and explains why he sees the opening statement as the most important part of trial. Brendan closes with the preparation step he swears by before every trial — a move he credits with sending his win rate soaring.
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Episode Preview
- Throwing every fact at the jury and hoping they sort it out is a recipe for losing, and Brendan explains what to do instead.
- Pat Malone warns that trying a medical malpractice case “just on the medicine” is a losing bet, so Brendan digs into what actually flips it.
- Drawing from Keith Mitnik, Brendan explores the real work of trial: shaping what happens in the space “between the fact and the conclusion” a juror reaches.
- Brendan explains how he won a snowstorm slip-and-fall by reframing which door actually mattered to the case.
- Greg Cusimano’s seven-step, bottom-up method, as Brendan lays it out, runs from gathering the facts to testing the story against jurors’ beliefs.
- Brendan stresses one focus group you must run before trial, and he explains why it can change the outcome.
- Could AI help you win over a jury? Brendan makes the case for using it to crack the metaphors and analogies that make a complex issue click.
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