Event Description
Speaker: David Mann, Founder of Simple Message Courtroom
1 Substantive Credit
Lawyers love to lawyer, but jurors need a narrative. Lawyers make factual puzzle pieces fall into an elegant legal theory, but the jury just wants to know what happened and who to root for. Learn how to give them a persuasive story without a word of legalese. Join the Civil Trial and Criminal Sections of the Lancaster County Bar Association and learn how to engage jurors with the power of narrative while keeping them engaged with simple presentation techniques so they're naturally compelled to side with your client.
Click here to register or complete this form and send it to elizabeth@lancasterbar.org.
David Mann is a story specialist who teaches leaders and attorneys how to make an impact by clarifying their message. He has combined his decades of experience as an actor, director, and playwright with the needs of attorneys and business leaders to help them win cases for their clients and grow their businesses. In his capacity as a persuasive story building specialist for lawyers, David is on the faculty of Loyola School of Law and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA). He has constructed opening statements for winning verdicts in cases ranging from medical malpractice to securities fraud. David has delivered keynotes and workshops at Fortune 500 companies and major nonprofit organizations nationwide. As a speaker, trainer, and performer, David has been featured in The New Yorker, Village Voice, The Business Journal, and Minnesota Business. A professional theater artist for over two decades, David has performed or directed for the Guthrie Theater, The Children’s Theatre Company, Great River Shakespeare Festival, and many other theaters. He has written and performed several critically acclaimed one-man shows and plays, and he is a recipient of a Bush Artist Fellowship for Storytelling. David is a graduate of Northwestern University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and he lives in Minneapolis.
CASES AS STORY CONSULTANT - Representative List
For all cases listed, David served as story consultant, arranging, writing, and guiding the story of the case for presentation in court.
IN PROGRESS
Defamation: 5 plaintiffs who claim they were falsely portrayed as being complicit in torture practices in the aftermath of 9/11. Multi-million-dollar verdict sought. (Amount confidential, as case is still in progress)
OVER $2B
Securities fraud: The Petrobras scandal (Operation “Lava Jato”) in which millions of pensioners were defrauded in a multi-billion-dollar scam. $2.95B settlement awarded.
OVER $19M
Wrongful Death: (Engle progeny tobacco litigation) Widow of deceased smoker against RJ Reynolds. A man died of lung disease after a lifetime of smoking cigarettes manufactured and marketed by Defendant. $19.4M verdict.
OVER $1M
Personal Injury: (Engle progeny tobacco litigation) Injured party against RJ Reynolds. A woman has chronic, life-threatening CPOD due to smoking cigarettes manufactured and marketed by Defendant.
Wrongful Death: Deceased’s family against the Pennsylvania DOT. A teenage girl was thrown from a car while a passenger traveling at high speed on a dark road.
Wrongful Death: Deceased’s family against hospital and paramedics. A man died after a heart attack when a paramedic botched resuscitation.
Wrongful Death: Deceased’s family against hospital and doctor. A woman died of a brain hemorrhage due to reperfusion.
Wrongful Death: Deceased’s wife against hospital and psychiatric clinic. A man committed suicide after being rejected twice from psychiatric clinic.
Personal Injury: Injured party against general contractor. A construction worker fell from a height of 20feet onto concrete and now suffers lifelong disability.
Personal Injury: Injured party and family against surgery center, hospital, and doctors. A man was brain damaged and rendered incapacitated due to incompetent intubation.
David Mann has also been story consultant for several other Plaintiff's PI/med-mal cases under $1M, employment law Plaintiff’s cases, Plaintiff’s demand letters in personal injury and wrongful death, and a handful of summary judgement hearings.
