By Jonathan P. Vallano
As the holiday season comes to an end and we all settle back into the stress of our normal work lives, I would like to sum up the progress made by Deliberations in 2013, discuss 2014, and put things into perspective a bit.
2013
Deliberations re-vamped and re-launched in August 2013 with a revised mission and purpose: to obtain diverse viewpoints and facilitate discussion about important issues facing litigators, litigation consultants, and the legal community as a whole. I would like to thank all of the following bloggers for posting content on Deliberations this year—as you can see, we have obtained many voices with many diverse viewpoints:
- Ken Broda-Bahm
- Jeffrey Fredrick
- Richard Gabriel
- Bob Gerchen
- Katherine James
- Susan Macpherson
- Charlotte Morris
- Michelle-Ramos Burkhart
If you wish to contribute to Deliberations, please contact me at [email protected]. If you want to comment on a particular blog post, you can post a comment directly on the website or on many of the LinkedIn groups where the posts are promoted. I ask that you make relevant comments and engage in civil discourse to create an environment where important (and sometimes controversial) issues can be discussed in a productive manner.
2014
What does the future hold for Deliberations? I would like to expand the influence of Deliberations by obtaining even more diverse voices, especially those of litigators, early career consultants, and social scientists. To further this goal, I will reach out to the legal community and promote the website along with the great work conducted by the litigation consulting community. If you are a consultant, litigator, social scientist, or in a related field, contact Deliberations to give us feedback, or to simply say that you read the blog and like or don’t like what you see. It is important to hear from our readers in order to improve the Deliberations experience. We have posted a very brief 3 question survey to get a better understanding of our readership and what you want from the website- please let me know that you’re reading and what you like or don’t like about the revamped version of Deliberations.
I would also like to further develop Deliberations into a “one stop shop” for litigators and consultants to provide important information about the latest trends related to litigation, disburse and discuss new (or highly debated) tips and techniques, and provide links to recent research germane to trial practice. To further this goal, Deliberations will soon begin posting links to relevant social science articles, archiving blog posts, and providing updates about how litigation consulting relates to current legal cases.
AND finally…..
As we begin the New Year and get back into the daily grind, I would like to offer a friendly reminder to consider ways that you and your work can inform and/or improve the legal system. But even more importantly, I urge you to remember the importance of your relationships with family and friends, as well as the importance of giving back to others. We all understand the arduous demands of work in the legal system but sometimes need a reminder to make time for the ones most important to us. Make this a year of no regrets, both personally and professionally.
Sincerely,
Jonathan P. Vallano
Deliberations Editor
Legal Psychologist and Consultant
www.jpvallano.com or [email protected]
Author Snapshot:
Jonathan P. Vallano, Ph.D., is the editor of the Deliberations blog and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Dr. Vallano also serves as a litigation consultant based in western Pennsylvania. You can contact Jon at [email protected] or visit his website at www.jpvallano.com
