Trial Team Series #3: Brainstorming Basics (by Sulaymaan Ali)
When you’re brainstorming, it’s easy to look at example themes from previous cases or articles and feel stuck comparing your rough drafts to someone else’s final product. But what you often don’t see are the dozens of discarded ideas. In fact, on many of the teams I’ve worked with, we brainstormed over fifty theme ideas before landing on one we liked. That’s not to say you NEED to come up with that many ideas—my takeaway for you is that you should throw everything out there into your brainstorm, knowing most of it probably won’t stick.
Here are some strategies to help you find your way through the trial theme brainstorming process:
1. The “Key Questions” Exercise
Ask yourself questions such as:
How do I want the jury to feel?
What moral values or principles do I want to highlight?
What narratives might the other side push?
Are there weaknesses in the other side’s case that they can’t overcome?
Why did key players (eg. Plaintiff, Defendant, victim, police officers, other witnesses) do or fail to do what you’re alleging? What was their motive?
What key pieces of evidence need to stand out?
What core message do I want the jury to take away?
2. The “This is a case about _____” Exercise
Complete this sentence: “This is a case about ____.” Limit yourself to a single paragraph that highlights just a few key facts. Then, gradually simplify it—first to a few sentences, then to two, and finally, to just one. If you don’t like the sentence you came up with, try again.
3. Polish with Precision
Once you've landed on your central issues and big ideas, it's time to focus on refining the theme to "sound pretty." Think of how you can incorporate rhetorical techniques, like triplets, alliteration, or antithesis—concepts we explored in previous articles. This is where a dictionary or thesaurus becomes invaluable for finding synonyms and antonyms that elevate your theme’s language and make it more memorable.
By following these steps, you’ll be on track to shaping a trial theme that hits home and captures the core of your case. Don’t forget that this is a process, and every idea you toss aside brings you closer to the one that works.
