Litigator facilitates trial practice discussions online

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In 2007, Anne Reed found a way to share her ideas and thoughts about juries and jury selection issues: she launched a blog, Deliberations.

“The blog format is a wonderful way of being able to publish material a little bit at a time and enter into a conversation with people,” said Reed, an attorney and jury consultant with Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. in Milwaukee. “Anything you learn becomes something you might blog.”

She’s one of a few women bloggers in civil litigation and has received recognition from the American Bar Association as one of the top 100 law blogs.

Her blog has covered issues such as studies about jurors ranking male litigators higher than females. She uses her blog to get women to accept the bias and seek other ways to present their cases better.

“For a lot of women, the first reaction is to get mad, which is understandable,” said Reed, who received her law degree from Cornell University in 1981. “But that doesn’t help the client or the case.”

She started her blog with daily entries, but now writes two to three times a week.

“I’ve learned so much from the blog and opening myself up to information to get it out there,” she said. “It’s tempting to blog more, but luckily, clients and real life obligations are good about keeping blogging in its proper place in life.”

At Reinhart Boerner, Reed co-chairs the financial litigation section. She also designs and conducts mock trials so clients can better understand how jurors will receive and interpret information.

“I’ve had a longstanding interest in jurors and jury issues,” she said. “In handling mock trials for other lawyers, my interest grew.”

In the community, she serves as director of the Meta House, a substance abuse and alcohol treatment center for women. She represents clients on a pro bono basis before municipal courts as part of the Reinhart Pro Bono Project.

Reed also does portrait photography, but not very often so she can spend time with her 12-year-old daughter.

She uses her designation as a supplemental court commissioner to conduct weddings for her friends’ children. So far, she’s done 20, she said.

“When you say, ‘I pronounce you husband and wife’ and because you said it, [the experience] is very profound.”

— Rosland B. Gammon