Can Defense Lawyers Co-Opt the Reptile Strategy?

As you know, we here at Abnormal Use sometimes contribute content to other publications, and this week is no exception. Our own Kyle White saw the publication of his “Can Defense Lawyers Co-Opt the Reptile Strategy?” piece in the most recent issue of DRI’s Strictly Speaking. Here’s the first two paragraphs:

In 2009, David Ball and Don Keenan published a book called REPTILE: The 2009 Manual of the Plaintiff’s Revolution (“REPTILE”).  The $95 book is billed as a manual that teaches Plaintiff’s attorneys how to reduce tort reform’s impact on juries by using the jurors’ primitive safety and self-preservation instincts. For those who have not read the book, it begins with the premise that insurance companies, big business, et cetera, have convinced prospective jurors via tort reform propaganda campaigns that jury verdicts impact the economy in their community – that jurors walk into the courtroom with the understanding that jury verdicts threaten their basic survival.  Keenan and Ball explain that jurors will disregard the facts and law to do whatever it takes to survive, and that tort reform has taken control of those survival-oriented decision making parts of the brain.

At first glance, it seems that the reptile strategy is a gimmick designed to bilk plaintiff’s attorneys out of $95; however, those who have faced the reptile strategy know that it can be dangerous.  In fact, Keenan and Ball’s website boasts that the reptile strategy has been responsible for over $6 billion in verdicts and settlements.  This article examines pertinent aspects of the reptile strategy and suggests two potential ways that civil defense lawyers can use reptile tactics to their advantage.

Strictly Speaking is the official newsletter of DRI’s Product Liability Committee. You can read the full article here. This longer work is a revisiting of Kyle’s earlier blog post on the topic, which you can find here.