William O'Neil

For a trial lawyer, jury selection is often the most crucial phase of any trial.
Trials arguably can be won or lost before any evidence is heard and
almost certainly influenced. Despite jury selection’s relative importance to
the outcome, lawyers are often left with only sparse background
information on juror questionnaires from which to probe potential cause
challenges and to make strike decisions. As a result, decisions are largely
made based upon experience and intuition… Show more

For a trial lawyer, jury selection is often the most crucial phase of any trial.
Trials arguably can be won or lost before any evidence is heard and
almost certainly influenced. Despite jury selection’s relative importance to
the outcome, lawyers are often left with only sparse background
information on juror questionnaires from which to probe potential cause
challenges and to make strike decisions. As a result, decisions are largely
made based upon experience and intuition. The growth and prevalence of social media in recent years — including websites such as
LinkedIn — has enabled lawyers and their jury consultants to make more educated and
sophisticated decisions during the jury selection process. These valuable benefits,
however, can be accompanied by ethical risks, several of which are explored in this
article. Show less

Courtrooms, which have traditionally been one of the bastions of low technology, now have Wi-Fi, which means that the Internet is accessible while court is in session. Even in courtrooms without Wi-Fi, many lawyers are bringing to court their personal MiFi systems. The implications of access to the Internet in the courtroom are widespread for trial lawyers — not taking advantage of Internet access during trial puts us at a disadvantage against our adversaries. This article discusses three… Show more

Courtrooms, which have traditionally been one of the bastions of low technology, now have Wi-Fi, which means that the Internet is accessible while court is in session. Even in courtrooms without Wi-Fi, many lawyers are bringing to court their personal MiFi systems. The implications of access to the Internet in the courtroom are widespread for trial lawyers — not taking advantage of Internet access during trial puts us at a disadvantage against our adversaries. This article discusses three practical ways to take advantage of Internet access during trial. Show less

The inclusion of arbitration clauses in commercial
contracts is commonplace in today’s business
world.1 The prevailing view is that the inclusion of
these clauses will yield a quicker and more cost effective
resolution of disputes than the more conventional
climb up the courthouse steps. All too often, however,
these perceived cost and time savings are not
achieved, leaving parties dissatisfied with their arbitral
experience. As CORPORATE COUNSEL recently noted:… Show more

The inclusion of arbitration clauses in commercial
contracts is commonplace in today’s business
world.1 The prevailing view is that the inclusion of
these clauses will yield a quicker and more cost effective
resolution of disputes than the more conventional
climb up the courthouse steps. All too often, however,
these perceived cost and time savings are not
achieved, leaving parties dissatisfied with their arbitral
experience. As CORPORATE COUNSEL recently noted: ‘‘A
decade ago, many GCs turned to arbitration in hopes of
slicing their companies’ soaring litigation expenses;
now they’re taking a second look at that decision and
finding that arbitration isn’t the cure-all they’d once envisioned.’’
2 Academics who have empirically studied
the frequency of use of arbitration clauses in commercial
contracts have referred to this as a ‘‘flight from arbitration.’’
Rather than abandon arbitration altogether, if cost
savings and expedience are truly your goals, they can
be achieved through more robust front-end drafting of
your arbitration clauses. This article provides a litigator’s
perspective on six essential terms that you should
include in your arbitration clauses and concludes with a
model arbitration clause embodying these terms. Show less