DLA Piper – “Much time and attention has been spent examining ways to improve how lawyers can more effectively educate jurors in complex product liability trials. Many, if not most, of these efforts focus on “the hammer” – ie, the persuasiveness, credibility and clarity of the lawyers and of the witness presentations. But there is potentially another way to improve lawyers’ persuasion of jurors at trial: focus on informing and honing the thinking of the jury. Even an effective hammer benefits from sharpened nails. We can and should work to develop jurors who are better prepared and better equipped to carry out the difficult tasks we place before them. This article takes a look at eight ways to sharpen jurors’ abilities: to help them become better students in the courtroom and, hopefully, mitigate some of the skepticism voiced by lawyers and clients in an era of dwindling product liability and other complex jury trials…” [h/t Alan Rothman]