Sometimes the most powerful points in closing arguments come not from statements prepared well in advance, but from rhetorical counterpunches to what opposing counsel just said. In a recent, special edition of Trial Technique Spotlight, noted trial consultant Shane Read details how Arash Homampour’s blistering response to opposing counsel's closing argument helped set up a $36-million-plus award for a fatal motorcycle crash.
David Andrade, 26, died when he was struck on his motorcycle by a pickup trying to make a left-hand turn across traffic. Andrade's parents, represented by Homampour, of Los Angeles-based Homampour Law Firm, claim the pickup driver was negligent, while the driver claims Andrade was at fault.
During the trial's closings, the defense attorney addressed possible damages by telling jurors that, hard as a loss may be, “life does go on. We have no other choice." She added “money is not a substitute for relationships,” before suggesting jurors award $500,000 to each of Andrade’s parents, if they found defendant liable.
In his closing, Homampour seized on those statements.
“You can’t use silly phrases like ‘Life goes on. Get over it. You’ve got memories,’ in any way in the context of the case,” Homampour said. “It’s offensive.”
Homampour argued that, while the memories and photos Andrade’s parents had of their son were precious, they were no compensation for his loss.
“A picture cannot be hugged. You can’t kiss a memory,” Homampour told jurors. “They don’t need any more memories from you. They don’t need any pictures from you.
"They need justice from each and every one of you.”
In analyzing the closing, Read said Homampour’s argument was so powerful because he listened and countered the defense’s statements directly, rather than simply hewing to a prepared script.
“You know what most lawyers do? They have a script, they read it, and they’re not listening [to opposing counsel's closing] because they’re so focused about what they’re going to say. [That’s] not what great trial lawyers do," Read said. "Arash Homampour’s listening.”
And it’s the power in this argument, Read said, that likely stuck with jurors as they deliberated.
“His passion, because he’s thinking on his feet, that makes the difference,” Read said.
Jurors would ultimately award Andrade's parents $36.25 million.
This episode is part of Trial Technique Spotlight, Focus on Arash Homampour. In this collection of five videos, Read details:
- How Homampour’s cross-exam of a city employee helped set up a major verdict for a bicyclist paralyzed in a head-on collision.
- Homampour’s use of demonstratives to tell the history of a crosswalk he said caused the death of an elderly pedestrian, en route to a 7-figure settlement with a California city while jurors deliberated.
- And more.
You can watch each of these episodes in one convenient playlist, where Read analyzes the verdict-winning approaches of one of the nation’s leading trial lawyers, all while discussing how those techniques can help you in your next case.
Watch TTS, Focus on Arash Homampour now.
You can also watch all of the other Trial Technique Spotlight episodes, where Read draws on his decades of litigation expertise to detail how the nation’s top attorneys on both sides of the courtroom win at trial.
Watch Trial Technique Spotlight now.
Read is a nationally recognized trial consultant and award-winning author who has helped thousands of lawyers transform their deposition, trial, and oral advocacy skills through in-house training programs, one-on-one coaching, and keynote speeches. And in each episode of Trial Technique Spotlight, he uses CVN’s courtroom video to detail the techniques the nation’s top attorneys use, and how to best use them in your own cases. You can learn more about Shane and sign up for his newsletter at ShaneRead.com
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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Learn more about Shane Read and how he helps attorneys at ShaneRead.com.
