How Experienced Litigation Lawyers Ace Closing Arguments

A jury may hear your personal injury case if the case proceeds to trial. You need an injury lawyer with litigation experience to get the compensation you deserve in such a case. The lawyer's experience is handy in multiple ways. For example, experience is necessary during closing arguments.

Below are strategies that experienced lawyers use during closing arguments.

They Put the Case in Chronological Order

Personal injury trial is not always chronological, especially regarding witness testimony and evidence introductions. The jury might not even have a clear overview of the case when the closing arguments start.

Experienced lawyers understand the confusion and use the closing argument to showcase the evidence chronologically. Some lawyers use professional artists or software to create relevant chronologies, depending on the case complexity.

An experienced lawyer understands that a good case chronology does not have to capture everything. The chronology should only include important events, such as injury dates and major medical treatments.

They Highlight Damaging Testimony or Evidence

The closing argument is the lawyer's last chance to win the case for their client. Most likely, the jurors will remember the closing arguments better than earlier arguments. Your lawyer knows this, so they will mention damaging testimony during the closing arguments.

Say the defendant admitted to phone use just before they caused a car crash. Your lawyer may highlight the admission during the closing argument. That way, the admission is unlikely to slip the jurors' minds during deliberations.

They Use Visual Aids

Visual aids help people understand important concepts. Lawyers with litigation experience use different forms of visual aids to drive home critical points during closing arguments. Examples of such visual aids include:

• Videotaped witness or defendant testimony
• Charts, graphs, or diagrams, especially those detailing damages
• Pictures of damages or injuries

Again, the lawyer will just use the visual aid for critical issues they want the jury to remember. For example, a chart showing the relationship between intoxicated driving and auto accidents is useful in a DUI (driving under the influence) accident case.

They Recapitulate Jury Instructions

Your lawyer may also use the closing argument to recap the jury instructions. The lawyer can highlight critical parts, for example, by projecting them on a screen. The recapitulation is necessary because the jury must understand what to credit or discredit.

For example, the jury needs to understand that they must rely on the evidence, testimony, and arguments in court. The instruction may help the jury disregard conflicting information from outside the court.

They Quote Compensation Figures

Most accident victims want monetary compensation for their damages. Jurors aren't experts at guessing compensation figures. They might not even understand some damage's worth, such as pain and suffering. A good lawyer doesn't hesitate to ask for the exact amount of compensation their client needs. If the lawyer wants a million dollars, they ask the jury for that figure.

They Don't Get Personal

Lastly, experienced lawyers know that personal issues don't carry any weight in court, especially during closing arguments. In fact, the prosecution can damage their case by getting personal. For example, your lawyer won't:

• Use their personal beliefs, such as religious beliefs of family values, to argue their case
• Attack the defendant on personal grounds
• Attack the defendant's lawyer on personal grounds

Personal beliefs don't help because they vary widely, have no legal basis, and lawyers cannot predict jurors' beliefs.



The above strategies show the significant role lawyers play in injury cases, especially cases that proceed to court. Frank Penney Injury Lawyers have over 25 years of experience in injury cases. Contact us for a free case consultation. We work to get you the compensation you deserve.