There are three truths about expert testimony.

The first, which first-time jurors discover to their dismay: expert testimony isn’t like what they see on their favorite TV legal dramas. Real testimony is long—running hours to days—and filled with complex jargon and mind-numbing data that turns into white noise when delivered by the wrong witness.

The second truth, which dismays attorneys and their clients: expert testimony is expensive, costing thousands of dollars a day at trial and up to seven figures over the course of a long, complex case.

But the third truth is the most critical: expert testimony is the pivot on which many trials turn.

Before the advent of trial video, attorneys looking for pre-trial intelligence on how opposing attorneys worked the courtroom had two options: watch the opposition in person at another trial or glean information from colleagues that faced them. 

Neither alternative provided a very good solution.

Better trial practice clinics and CLE seminars have spread the word about effective closing argument tactics and techniques. Most attorneys today use some sort of visual aid, from posterboard to computer simulation during their closing, for example, giving jurors a clearer summation of a case. 

But the difference between a workmanlike summation and a closing that compels a jury is the way in which these tactics and techniques are used. The tips below, as shown by three of the country's top trial lawyers, can help seal a verdict in your favor.

Cameras in the courtroom have led a sea-change in legal journalism and are revolutionizing attorneys' trial preparation and practice. 

For more than 50 years pro athletes and coaches have studied video footage, of themselves and their opponents, finding new and sometimes hidden insights that translate to a win on game day. The practice is now so ingrained and sophisticated that film study is built into a team’s daily training schedule, and a quarterback like the Denver Broncos’ Peyton Manning can dial up video on his tablet and dissect a play from three decades earlier, all while he rehabs an injury.

But despite higher stakes and competition that’s just as keen, many practicing trial attorneys have never studied video.

Why?

Top defense attorneys won key CVN-covered trials throughout Georgia in 2015. CVN Georgia's 2015 Defense Attorney of the Year earned the honor going undefeated in two major medical malpractice trials in front of CVN cameras.