Professor Gary S. Gildin delivers lecture to over 150 lawyers at Northeastern PA Trial Lawyers Association Personal Injury Boot Camp

Professor Gary S. Gildin was invited by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association to be the National Speaker at its Personal Injury Boot Camp. Gildin spoke to over 150 lawyers on Harmonizing Persuasion with the Operation of the Brain.

Gildin first explained why attempting to persuade the jury by organizing the trial presentation around the elements of the cause of action or crime and burden of proof does not align with how the minds of the jurors will process the trial testimony and reach a decision. Instead, Gildin offered, trial lawyers must pivot their advocacy to be congruent with what neuroscientists have recently learned about how the brain operates. We must tell one person’s story--a story whose single plot is the predicable outcome of that person’s character and motive. To capitalize on the driving role that emotion plays in every decision, we also must explicitly identify the human stakes—how the jury’s verdict in our favor will improve someone’s life in a non-material way.

Professor Gary S. Gildin teaches courses in Trial Advocacy as well as Advanced Persuasion. Both courses rely on recent findings in neuroscience to adapt the substance and techniques of advocacy to judges, jurors, and policymakers to align with how their brains will process information and reach a decision. Gildin recently published "The Neuroscience of Qualified Immunity," arguing that the United States Supreme Court’s immunity doctrine does not correspond with the process by which the brains of government officials actually choose to act. Professor Gildin is co-founder of Trial Story LLC, drawing on principles of neuroscience to consult with and train lawyers to find the single strongest story that the trier of fact will find not only predictable, but inevitable.