Abbott Law Firm has extensive experience in handling litigation in the State of Utah. We have handled thousands of cases and taken numerous cases to trial with excellent results.
We are willing to work with other attorneys on cases in Utah. We will work as co-counsel or take over the case entirely. We are willing to do fee splits that comply with ethical rules.
I recently went to a trial lawyers continuing legal education seminar in New York. Part of the program included a mock jury trial. At the end of the trial, we watched the jurors deliberate. It quickly became apparent that the jurors did not like the plaintiff. They thought he had lied and exaggerated his injuries. They wanted to punish him by reducing his award. They gave him only $120,000 in general damages. Those of us from Utah were stunned. A friend of mine recently took a personal injury case to trial in Utah. The jury gave his client $1.00 in general damages.
Understanding Utah juries is one of the keys to our success. Utah juries are some of the most conservative juries in the nation. What does that mean? It means they don’t think like New York juries.
To be successful a Utah attorney needs to reach the jury. We have been successful in doing that because we live among Utah jurors. We understand how and what they think. We understand how and why they make up their minds. I often hear attorneys complain that juries apply a preponderance of the evidence standard in criminal cases and a beyond a reasonable doubt standard in other cases. Understanding jurors sheds light on that observation. If you ask the average person on the street, “how sure do you need to be before you would take money from person A and give it to person B,” most people would say 100% sure. If you ask the same person, “how sure do you need to be before taking a dangerous criminal off the street,” the same person would likely respond, pretty sure. That is human nature. We are social creatures. We want to protect the status quo. Taking a dangerous criminal off the street protects society. Ensuring that people keep their hard earned money also protects society. Understanding that motivator allows us to re-frame our opening, direct, cross and closing arguments to speak to that core values that most jurors hold. Being successful in a jury trial is not so much changing the mind of the jurors as framing the argument in terms that resonate with the fundamental beliefs of the jurors.
We also understand that the modern juror was brought up on T.V. They are used to information being presented not just orally (the radio generation) but also visually (the T.V. generation). The advent of the internet with sites such as youtube has only increased the average juror’s appetite for a visual presentation. We have invested significant sums of money and time to create resources that can be used to give visual presentations to jurors.
Another important aspect of presenting a winning personal injury case in Utah is to speak the juror’s own language. Utah jurors come from a unique culture with its own traditions and customs. Being sensitive to those traditions and customs is crucial.
We are happy to work with other attorneys in trials in the State of Utah. Whether the attorney is from Utah or outside Utah, we are willing to work with outside counsel. We will work on a co-counsel basis or even take a referral. We will split fees in compliance with ethical guidelines.
If you are an attorney and would like to discuss a case with us, please call or click.