Bernard M. Resser | LawLawLandBlog.com

Posts by Bernard M. Resser

Bernard M. (Bernie) Resser is a seasoned and accomplished trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor. He applies experience gained over 30 years and uses cutting-edge technology to deliver winning results for a diverse and sophisticated business clientele. Bernie's client-centered approach achieves successful resolution of disputes as quickly as possible through strategic motions and mediations and, when necessary, trials and appeals. His litigation practice encompasses business disputes involving corporate, real estate, intellectual property, commercial, and unfair competition matters across many industries. Bernie's effective use of state-of-the-art trial presentation techniques has been featured in the National Law Journal and the Law.com. Successes achieved for his clients have been reported in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Bernie's consistently strong performance is reflected in his preeminent (AV 5.0 out of 5) peer review rating with Martindale-Hubbell. Also, he has been recognized as a "Southern California Super Lawyer" in Business Litigation every year since 2005, as published in Los Angeles Magazine and the New York Times. Bernie grew up and attended high school, college, and law school in Los Angeles. He is active in the community, having served on the boards and as an officer of non-profit organizations, including as president. Bernie and his wife of over 30 years have two adult children. He enjoys golf, gardening and Lakers games.

Lights, Camera, Courtroom: Lessons from Mike Wallace

Posted By Bernard M. Resser on June 29, 2012
Posted under Attorneys, Film and Television, Litigation

After CBS News legend Mike Wallace passed away in April, the news was (justifiably) flooded with commentary highlighting Wallace’s qualities as a newsman. One obituary described him as “the ‘60 Minutes’ pit-bull reporter whose probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago. . . .” The Chairman of CBS News and executive producer of 60 Minutes, Jeff Fager, described Wallace as an “infectious, funny and ferocious person . . . .” As one writer explained, “Wallace didn’t just interview people. He interrogated them. He cross-examined them. Sometimes he eviscerated them. His weapons were many: thorough research, a cocked eyebrow, a skeptical ‘Come on’ and a question so direct sometimes it took your breath away.”

These qualities made for one of America’s most successful and respected interviewers and journalists. Wallace had a knack for drawing the truth out of public and private figures, exposing wrongdoing of both personal and national proportions. These qualities also make for a successful trial lawyer.

Sure, in recent years, television has provided us lawyers with so many role models, and taught us all kinds of helpful things about the practice of law. From Law and Order’s Jack McCoy, we know that winning lawyers essentially speak in one-liners. From The Practice’s Bobby Donnell, we know that the best trial attorneys have piercing blue eyes and a 5 o’clock shadow 24 hours a day. From The Good Wife’s Alicia Florrick, we know that third-year associate lawyers routinely run cases pretty much all by themselves. And from Boston Legal’s Denny Crane, we know that the most successful lawyers of all refer to themselves in the third person, and are pretty much just William Shatner.

But for years, I have drawn lawyerly inspiration from Wallace, whose interviewing style is a model for how evidence can be effectively collected in deposition and presented at trial. And, in an era of video-savvy jurors, lawyers have much to learn from Wallace’s techniques. Continue reading the full story . . . »