The English Premier League is one of the most wide open professional sports championships in the World. If you do just a little bit of fantasy soccer analysis, you will quickly see how competitive this league has consistently been. The main reason for this league being so competitive is the relegation rule that the most top European Soccer leagues follow. Specifically for the Premier League, the clubs that finish the bottom three positions are forced to be relegated to the second division in England called the English League Championship. Consequently, due to three clubs being relegated from the top to the second, the top three teams in the ELC are promoted to the Premier League and compete against the top teams in England so long as they don’t slip to the bottom three. This is a self-sustaining system to ensure that the best and most competitive teams will be playing each other year in and year out.
But, in reality can a club that recently got promoted to play against billion dollar super clubs really compete for an entire season? The answer is an outstanding YES. The answer immediately points to the 2015-2016 Premier League Champions, Leicester City. The history of this club is a crazy one. They were founded 1884 and have been a mainstay in English soccer. In 2008, the club was relegated all the way down to the third league in England called League 1. A year later they got back to the English League Championship and then in 2014 returned to the Premier League after they won the second division championships. So in an eight year span, the Wolves went from being in the worst division in England to being the best club in England as they hoisted the Premier League trophy at the end of 2016. There have been nearly fifty team who have competed in the Premier League since its inception in the early 1990s. And none of the fifty teams to have competed in the Premier League, nor any of the other divisions in England, have done what Manchester City have been able to accomplish to start this season.
As it stand right now, the club has won an unbelievable sixteen straight matches and sit eleven points clear of their arch rivals Manchester United. This club has rattled off sixteen straight victories after only drawing their first match of the season. This is unprecedented in European Soccer when teams are playing in Champions League during the week and league matches on the weekend. And this club by no means faltered in Champion League as they are currently slated to match up against Basel in the round of sixteen in the spring. According to fantasy soccer research, their dominance has come from their awe inspiring forty four goal difference. They are tied for the lead in the fewest goals allowed, with twelve, and are head and shoulders above the rest of the league in goals scored with a staggering fifty six. The secret to their success: Pep Guardiola. And if you scour the City’s roster you won’t find anyone by that name. The reason is that is the legendary manager who currently possess three of the five longest winning streaks per European Soccer Leagues. He owns the longest winning streaks in the following leagues: Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), and Bundesliga 1 (Germany). If they are able to continue this win streak through Christmas and during the Winter Transfer Window we may see history made with the best record ever in the Premier League and possibly in all of Europe.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Trial Witness Preparation: Rules of Effective Communication
A powerful, convincing testimony should be the goal of any witness who wishes to contribute to the pursuit of justice and truth. However, many factors become barriers to effective communication in the courtroom. Thankfully, through trial witness preparation, lawyers can train witnesses how to conquer these odds.
The following are some principles of communication to keep in mind when appearing at trials:
Mind the power relations in the room. On top of the written rules regarding the trial procedures to comply with, witnesses also need to understand the dynamics of power inside a room. There is obviously a social hierarchy to be sensitive to, if the idea is to draw the sympathy or be on the good side of the jury or judge. This means being conscious about addressing particular people the right way, and observing how each person in the room treat the others. It would also be a great idea to learn in advance the names of those a witness would be directly dealing with.
Still and distill thoughts. Normally, there would be a number of thoughts racing inside a witness’ head, beforehe takesthe stand. Do I look presentable? Will the jury believe me? Who are the members of the jury? Who will be there in the courtroom? Do I know any member of the opposing party? How long will the hearing be? Combine with anxiety and stress that typically comes with socializing with others, and all these thoughts can be distracting, and will prevent a person from focusing on the task at hand. Amid all these distractions, a witness needs to know how to still and distill his thoughts – know what is worth saying, and what is not, know what words are appropriate to use, and what are not.
Listen, and listen well.A bad practice that is unfortunately nurtured by society involves being preoccupied with what we want to say, rather than fully digesting what the other person said first. This can do harm especially when one is being asked a question, but he is more enthusiastic about sharing everything he knows. Key to this is a practice of mindfulness, where the person tries his best to note every word being said, and pausing to understand, before giving any response. If the question only requires either a yes or a no, sometimes adding an extra phrase or two might actually hurt the testimony.
Keep emotions at bay. Finally, witnesses need to learn how to control their emotions. The first step would be acknowledging that they exist – whether it’s apprehension, excitement, anger, sadness, regret, or guilt. Emotions are fleeting and vacillating most of the time, so testimonies cannot be based on them, but on the facts of the case. Some relaxation techniques prior to taking the stand can be helpful in keeping emotions at bay.
To learn more about trial witness preparation and trial strategy, get in touch with the legal consulting experts at Dubin Research and Consulting, a Manhattan-based firm led by Josh Dubin, Esq.
The following are some principles of communication to keep in mind when appearing at trials:
Mind the power relations in the room. On top of the written rules regarding the trial procedures to comply with, witnesses also need to understand the dynamics of power inside a room. There is obviously a social hierarchy to be sensitive to, if the idea is to draw the sympathy or be on the good side of the jury or judge. This means being conscious about addressing particular people the right way, and observing how each person in the room treat the others. It would also be a great idea to learn in advance the names of those a witness would be directly dealing with.
Still and distill thoughts. Normally, there would be a number of thoughts racing inside a witness’ head, beforehe takesthe stand. Do I look presentable? Will the jury believe me? Who are the members of the jury? Who will be there in the courtroom? Do I know any member of the opposing party? How long will the hearing be? Combine with anxiety and stress that typically comes with socializing with others, and all these thoughts can be distracting, and will prevent a person from focusing on the task at hand. Amid all these distractions, a witness needs to know how to still and distill his thoughts – know what is worth saying, and what is not, know what words are appropriate to use, and what are not.
Listen, and listen well.A bad practice that is unfortunately nurtured by society involves being preoccupied with what we want to say, rather than fully digesting what the other person said first. This can do harm especially when one is being asked a question, but he is more enthusiastic about sharing everything he knows. Key to this is a practice of mindfulness, where the person tries his best to note every word being said, and pausing to understand, before giving any response. If the question only requires either a yes or a no, sometimes adding an extra phrase or two might actually hurt the testimony.
Keep emotions at bay. Finally, witnesses need to learn how to control their emotions. The first step would be acknowledging that they exist – whether it’s apprehension, excitement, anger, sadness, regret, or guilt. Emotions are fleeting and vacillating most of the time, so testimonies cannot be based on them, but on the facts of the case. Some relaxation techniques prior to taking the stand can be helpful in keeping emotions at bay.
To learn more about trial witness preparation and trial strategy, get in touch with the legal consulting experts at Dubin Research and Consulting, a Manhattan-based firm led by Josh Dubin, Esq.
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