Randy D Gordon

November 02, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

A case going to trial has no inevitable conclusion. Making the theory of a case appear inevitable is the best we can hope for.

By Randy D. Gordon

6 minute read

September 20, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

In summarizing evidence at trial it behooves the lawyer to adhere to the "huntsman's paradigm" for discerning traces and following signs to an inevitable conclusion.

By Randy D. Gordon

8 minute read

September 08, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

"I want us to think about the historical fact of conquest and immigration and what this has meant for social constructs and institutions, especially the law. Language and literature will be our guides."

By Randy D. Gordon

7 minute read

August 02, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

A question of motive: From Sherlock Holmes to the O.J. Simpson case.

By Randy D. Gordon

7 minute read

May 23, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

Just as a moviegoer must act on a series of cues subliminally signaling that her brain must unconsciously run certain "procedural schemas" that will allow her to transform discourse into narrative, so must a juror match the unanchored discourse of trial to her storehouse of real-world experiences and beliefs.

By Randy D. Gordon

8 minute read

March 21, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

"Thus, closing arguments tend to have a recognizable spine: praise for the jury's dedication and diligence, a few personal touches designed to show a common history and shared values, a selective appropriation of the evidence ordered into story form, and scattered commentary casting doubt on the opposition's case," says Randy D. Gordon, the office managing partner of the Dallas office of Duane Morris LLP.

By Randy D. Gordon

5 minute read

January 26, 2022 | Texas Lawyer

Trial itself involves lawyers introducing bits of evidence—something like hanging ornaments on a tree—that make their trial stories appear weightier and more attractive. (Or the reverse, when they're challenging their oppositions' evidence).

By Randy D. Gordon

9 minute read

December 16, 2021 | Texas Lawyer

The most common trial tactic is the objection, which can be used for a substantive purpose (e.g., keeping out inadmissible evidence like hearsay) or a merely strategic purpose (e.g., disrupting an examination that is going too well or casting suspicion on unfavorable evidence).

By Randy D. Gordon

9 minute read

December 13, 2021 | Texas Lawyer

True, law can have immediate and enormous consequences when the power of the state is brought to bear on individuals, but the stories that result from law carry emotional weight sufficient to bend law one way or the other over time. In this way, law is both an instrument and informer of culture.

By Randy D. Gordon

7 minute read

September 27, 2021 | Texas Lawyer

'The lawyers' work at trial is to put on evidence that congeals around the central action in the form of an explanatory narrative.'

By Randy D. Gordon

7 minute read