Imagination and the Art of the Jury Trial

About the Book

There are three concepts that are central to this work, to law, and to music. One is imagination (self-creativity). The second is relating (the ability to tell a story or compose a symphony and relate it to a jury). Third, and most importantly, is learning to overcome the biggest deficit of a lawyer and the most important attribute of a composer—listening.

About the Author

The author is a retired trial judge with twenty years of experience on the civic bench and over twenty-five years experience as a trial attorney. As a trial judge, he presided over two hundred jury trials. As a trial attorney, he participated in the defense of what was at that time the longest jury trial in the Sixth Federal Judicial Circuit. His education was at the University of North Carolina and the University of Michigan Law School. He has both lectured and taught on the subjects of jury selection, evidence and trial strategy. Neil Thomas, a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Michigan Law School, blends his trial experience from his practice in New York City and then Chattanooga with twenty years on the state court bench where he presided over in excess of two hundred jury trials involving complex contract disputes, medical malpractice and product liability. His professional involvement has included service on the governing body of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association and in the House of Delegates of the Tennessee Bar Association. He founded the Litigation Section of the Tennessee Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the American, Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Foundations and is a member of the bar of the United State Supreme Court. His community service includes President of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, the Chattanooga Rotary Club, the Brock-Cooper American Inns of Court, the Tennessee Safety Council, Junior Achievement, Friends of both Chickamauga National Military Park and Mocassin Bend Park and the Salvation Army. He has published and taught extensively in the legal field.