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Boston, MA— Attorneys Monday debated who bore responsibility for the lung cancer death of a Massachusetts woman who smoked for more than half a century, as trial opened against the nation’s two largest tobacco companies. Kinnally v. R.J. Reynolds, et al., 1684CV03937.  

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CVN cameras have been on hand for headline-making trials coast-to-coast the last several weeks, from bellwether trials involving the NCAA to massive medical malpractice claims. As the year draws to a close, check out critical moments in a few of the biggest trials we’ve covered recently.

Dr. Burton Bentley highlights a powerful example of building credibility while testifying, in this clip from Medical Testimony Master Class. You can watch the full episode here.

In a medical malpractice case, a defendant medical provider’s credibility is crucial to securing a defense verdict. And in the latest episode of Medical Testimony Master Class with Burton Bentley, II, M.D., Dr. Bentley highlights a powerful technique that Huff Powell & Bailey’s Scott Bailey used to bolster his physician-client’s credibility during direct exam, leading to a defense win in a major med-mal trial. 

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When questioning a witness, it’s crucial to highlight the key information you want a jury to take away from that testimony. Otherwise, you risk jurors becoming overwhelmed with information and missing the most important points that witness made. This is particularly true during questioning of expert witnesses, where testimony can run hours long and confuse the average juror. In a multi-plaintiff talc trial against Johnson & Johnson, the demonstrative “notes” Mark Lanier wrote to support his questioning powerfully distilled key pieces of testimony and helped win a blockbuster verdict.