Advertise on podcast: The Jury Is Out

Hosts Tim Cronin, John Simon, and Erich Veith cover how to read the witness, stay in control of the room, and shut down speaking objections. John opens with warm-up questions and shows a little interest in who the witness is. Tim tries to get an early laugh. Erich's rule: don't burn hours on the CV unless it matters, and he shares a story about a deposition where opposing counsel went back to an expert's high school grades.

What does real prep look like? Hosts John Simon, Tim Cronin and Erich Veith discuss re-reading the pleadings (even when you think you remember them), pre-running exhibits with the video tech, using your experts, and why AI can draft your outline but can't do your thinking. Plus: the "just damages" lesson John Simon learned the hard way in year one.

Co-hosts John Simon and Tim Cronin move from style and brainstorming into the concrete goals attorneys should have walking into any deposition. As John puts it, if a deposition isn't accomplishing one of these goals, it may be worth asking why you're taking it at all. John and Tim break down the list of tips, from establishing the elements of your case and eliminating claims and defenses, to boxing witnesses into fixed answers, flipping expert opinions before they're given, and establishing safety rules the other side has to agree apply. Along the way, they share detailed trial stories: a trucking case built around the true purpose of a trailer's rear guard, a corporate representative deposition that quietly eliminated every defense in a wheel failure case, and a five-minute deposition that ended a case before it truly began. The episode also digs into the discovery side of depositions most attorneys underuse.

Hosts John Simon and Tim Cronin dig into how to read a witness in the first 15 minutes, when to be deferential versus direct, and why walking in with a rigid game plan can cost you if you're not willing to throw it out in the first of a new multi-part series on deposition strategy. They break down what separates attorneys who simply gather information from those who use every deposition to actively build their case and share real war stories from decades of practice. The episode covers five tips on style and approach and four tips on brainstorming before you even build an outline, laying the groundwork for the deeper series ahead: deposition goals, thorough preparation, in-the-room tactics, and cross-examination strategy. As John and Tim put it, the case goes as the deposition goes and this episode explains why.

John Simon breaks down nine of the top 10 factors most likely to derail a case and how to handle them with Tim Cronin as guest host. Here’s a hint: Experts. They also examine the impact of recent social media–driven verdicts and discuss how a low rideshare verdict could influence similar cases moving forward in a good way.

In Part 2 of this father-daughter conversation, trial attorneys John Simon and Mary Simon continue exploring what truly drives jury decision-making. Through real courtroom stories and side-by-side scenarios, John explains why a defendant's conduct, credibility, and character often matter as much as the injuries themselves. Together, they discuss why jurors don't simply calculate damages—they make human judgments about responsibility, accountability, and whether someone has earned their trust.

This week's episode brings a unique dynamic to the mic as trial attorneys John Simon and Mary Simon—father daughter duo—sit down for an honest conversation about what jurors actually care about. Drawing on more than 41 years and over 100 jury trials, John shares the lessons experience has taught him while Mary asks the questions every trial lawyer eventually wrestles with.

Beyond exploring the civil rights victories attorney and professor Brendan Roediger has scored, the hosts dive into three themes of teaching the next generation in civil practice. Erich Veith, who co-teaches a Civil Practice course at St. Louis University Law with Roediger, walks students through a simulated case from initial client intake all the way to the eve of trial, noting it's where students stop feeling like the law is magic performed only by people smarter than them and start realizing they actually belong. Roediger proposes allowing students to submit AI produced assignments instead of preaching against it, and redline it, and write a memo explaining every change. The conversation ends with an open question none of them can answer: when AI can do the research, draft the brief, and summarize the discovery, what exactly are we training law students to become?

Find out how a defense theory that multiple women fabricated stories of sexual assault out of greed for settlement money collapsed under cross examination in this episode with Brendan Roediger, civil rights attorney and clinical law professor at St. Louis University School of Law. The episode covers a lot of Roediger's career, from the grassroots discovery of illegal warrant fees in St. Louis County municipalities to a $37 million verdict against the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and some of the most difficult civil rights litigation imaginable. What ties it all together is his view that the legal system routinely punishes people not for what they did, but for how little money they have.

This episode moves from the philosophy of improv into its specific mechanics and direct parallels to the craft of trial law. Guest Ashley Rube breaks down what she actually teaches: starting with being a great teammate, then building active listening, presence, and scene mechanics from there. The principle that your job is to make your scene partner look incredible reframes how Tim Cronin thinks about direct examination: rather than ticking through an outline, the attorney's role is to set up the witness to shine. Ryan Myers draws the same parallel from his years in sales: the best client conversations happen when you stop following a script and start genuinely listening for what the other person needs. Research shows that stress narrows lateral thinking and produces tunnel vision. Improv, the guests argue, doesn't replace a lawyer's skills, it quiets the parts of the nervous system that get in the way of those skills.

Listen in as performers, teachers and corporate workshop facilitators from The Improv Shop in St. Louis explain how improv skills map directly into the courtroom, deposition room and any high-stakes conversation where the unexpected is guaranteed to happen. Hosts Erich Veith and Tim Cronin reflect with Ashley Rube and Ryan Myers on one of the most common failure modes they observe in young trial lawyers: rigid adherence to a prepared outline even when a witness hands them something better. The instinct to follow the script, they argue, is trained into law students from day one and it takes real effort to unlearn. Full disclosure: nobody is here to turn lawyers into comedians, but rather how to apply the discipline of presence, collaboration and responsive decision-making of improve to the legal profession.

The hosts explore how other companies are engaging in Amazon’s Delivery Service Provider or DSP model to skirt liability for the actions of workers in the gig economy. Guest Johnny Simon tells host Tim Cronin Amazon is facing an existential question because these types of cases require attorneys to uncover unflattering evidence, including information about their profits and how they treat drivers. Cronin says the trend is spreading to the healthcare industry, especially in rural hospitals.

The Courts are starting to recognize Amazon and other massive companies should be held liable for the actions of their agents or employees while they’re on the clock, despite their attempts at creating corporate structures to avoid liability in the gig economy. Simon Law Attorney Johnny Simon discusses the strategies he’s used to hold Amazon and other companies accountable with host Tim Cronin, who also has had success in these types of cases. The hosts break down how Amazon’s Delivery Service Provider or DSP model is marketed as independent small businesses but operates under extensive control from Amazon including training on package handling, uniforms, real-time driver monitoring. Despite that control, Amazon claims DSP drivers are not its employees, shifting liability onto smaller contractors that typically carry limited insurance.

From starting with clear, reasonable requests and meticulously documenting every interaction, to setting firm deadlines and escalating strategically, The Jury is Out outlines how to maintain control of the process. John Simon, Eric Veith and Tim Cronin highlight how persistent obstruction from opposing counsel can be turned into a powerful advantage in your case.

The Jury is Out explores the growing problem of discovery obstruction in litigation, where routine requests are increasingly met with blanket objections. John Simon, Erich Veith and Tim Cronin discuss how this trend impacts day-to-day legal work, and practical strategies attorneys can use to push through resistance and keep cases moving forward.