Making an opening statement for a plaintiff clearly isn't the same assignment as making one for a defendant. The differences between plaintiff- and defense-side openings were on full display yesterday as plaintiffs lawyer Cynthia McGuinn of Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn and defense lawyer Eugene Brown Jr. of Hinshaw & Culbertson walked through their approach to preparing openings in a mock case used in a recent American Board of Trial Advocates training session.