Heather Hansen's Blog - Advocate To Win

Help Your Jury Choose the Story that Works for You

What’s a Jury’s Job? A jury chooses, and your job as an advocate is to help your jury choose the story that works for you. When I was a young trial attorney I realized this truth. And that’s when my law practice changed. Before that, I thought the jury was there to judge me and […]

First Choose What You Want

First, choose what you want. “What do you want?” When I ask my legal clients that question, most of the time I already know the answer. They want to win, especially at the beginning. I represent doctors whose patients have sued them. And when they receive that notice of a lawsuit, they’re scared, angry, and […]

If You Aren’t Losing, You Aren’t Trying the Tough Stuff

The first time I lost a trial I honestly wasn’t sure I’d recover. I’d tried less than 10 jury trials, and I’d been fortunate enough to win them all. This case was different though. During the 2 year period from when the case was filed to when we went to trial, I knew it was […]

Be Where Your Feet Are – One Way to Be More Productive

“Be where your feet are.” I don’t know the origin of this quote, but I heard Bob Goff repeat it in a recent podcast interview. (I love anything Bob does and just bought his latest, Dream Big, here). While I heard this quote long ago, it resonated even more this time. During the pandemic one […]

Three Things Jury Trials Taught Me About Asking for What I Want

There are three things that jury trials taught me about asking for what I want. And I found that these 3 lessons apply to life outside the courtroom as well. I’ve used them to get what I want, and so have my clients. In fact, my coaching clients have used these three lessons to ask […]

“Your Witness” – Two Words that Could Change Everything

“Your Witness”–these are two words that could change everything. They did for me. I used to be even more of a perfectionist than I am now. And perfectionism isn’t great. It’s not cute, not sexy, not fun and it doesn’t even help you succeed. In fact, it is more likely to hold you back from […]

Ask Me No Questions and I’ll Tell You No Lies

Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies. That was a song by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters that came out in the early 70s. And while it might be true that as long as you don’t ask questions you won’t have to hear any lies, it’s also bad for business, for […]

My Kindle Called Me Stupid

The other night my Kindle called me stupid. When I read during the day, I read non-fiction and hard copies of the books. But when I read at night, I read fiction in bed, on the Kindle. I have an obsession with words and what they mean. Not only do I need to know their […]

Losing My Sunglasses and Finding Another Story

At the time I didn’t realize that losing my sunglasses would lead to finding another story. But I’m so glad it happened. I was late for a doctor’s appointment, and rushing. I had stuff in my pockets and my sunglasses tucked in my neckline. I heard a sound and felt in my pockets to be […]

Make Them Feel Significant

If you want to win someone’s attention, loyalty or engagement, make them feel significant. Every one of us wants to feel like we matter, and that our lives have meaning. It’s a universal need. No matter who your jury is–clients, customers, team members or family–you want to make them to know their meaning and that […]

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