David K Bissinger

December 13, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Civil litigators often overestimate the amount of evidence courts will exclude, writes David K. Bissinger. Fewer trials mean that litigators focus more on the technical rules of exclusion than on the exceptions, which in many instances threaten to swallow the rules. Sitting at their desks with large stacks of e-mail evidence, litigators imagine every possible ground of exclusion. The billable hour tends to encourage many litigators to undertake this analysis with zeal.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

January 11, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Law schools use the case method as the core means of teaching law students, says David K. Bissinger, a trial lawyer and partner in Siegmyer, Oshman & Bissinger in Houston. It has enormous value, but technology has the potential to revolutionize the law school experience. By using real-world advocacy materials, law schools can help restore confidence in the legal profession and the legal process, he says.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

September 27, 2010 | Texas Lawyer

Direct examination lies at the heart of every trial, says David K. Bissinger. That is where the parties tell their story. But while law libraries abound with books about cross-examination, few writers address direct examination.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

September 18, 2007 | National Law Journal

Thanks to technology and the vanishing jury trial, every complex case risks becoming a quagmire of disorganized data. But attorney David Bissinger says salvation for lawyers and jurors lies in summaries because they deliver the most value when the court admits them into evidence, and summary exhibits will drive the closing argument and jury deliberations. Bissinger explains what summaries trial lawyers should use as well as how attorneys can prepare themselves for summary.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

August 25, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

In this age of increasingly complex litigation, courts appear increasingly willing, even after trial, to go back into the record to sanction lawyers for misleading arguments.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

September 17, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Thanks to technology and the vanishing jury trial, every complex case risks becoming a quagmire of disorganized data. To quote Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "The facts aren't everything. At least half the case is in knowing what to do with the facts." Salvation for lawyers and jurors lies in summaries.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

June 29, 2010 | New York Law Journal

David K. Bissinger, a partner in Siegmyer, Oshman & Bissinger, writes: Lawyers have complained for generations that trying complex suits requires them to dumb down the content of their cases for the jury. In recent years, skeptics have added the growth of multimedia evidence and argument to their list of complaints about perceived impediments to fair trials. But a compelling case exists that using multimedia increases juror competence.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

August 23, 2007 | Legaltech News

Electronic discovery has changed not just the rules of document production, but also how to use these materials when questioning and preparing witnesses. Trial lawyer David K. Bissinger shows how electronic evidence can become the smoking gun in the e-mail box.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

September 28, 2009 | Texas Lawyer

Trial lawyer anxiety has reached an all-time high, with lawyers and judges writing and worrying about the age of the vanishing jury trial. Despite this existential crisis, lawyers have had no better opportunity for creative advocacy than they do today.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read

June 25, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

Electronic discovery has changed not just the rules of document production but also how to use these materials when questioning and preparing witnesses.

By David K. Bissinger

5 minute read