Trial Tip: Discussing Damages in Final Argument

A fireman rushes into a burning building to save a $65 million Picasso.

But as he turns toward the painting room, he hears a little girl screaming.

What does he do?

He saves the girl. Every time.

That is the value of a human life — and that is exactly the kind of analogy that veteran plaintiff trial lawyer and 2026 National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates Bill Shapiro uses in closing argument to help jurors understand what non-economic damages are really worth.

I had the pleasure of talking with Bill on the Trial Alchemy™ podcast, and his approach to arguing damages in final argument is a masterclass in practical trial craft.

Start with CACI 3905A — and put it on the screen

Bill begins by projecting the jury instruction on PowerPoint and walking through each element one by one: pain, disfigurement, emotional distress, grief. He doesn't rush past the language. He stops and asks the jury to sit with each concept — to think about what emotional distress actually means, what disfigurement actually costs a human being.

Break it down to dollars per hour

Then he does something deceptively simple. He calculates each element of damage on an hourly basis for the remainder of the plaintiff's life expectancy.

→ What is it worth — per hour — to live with pain you can't see but can't escape?

→ The doctors have confirmed it's real. It's debilitating. It hurts.

→ To avoid pain for a single dental procedure, a patient pays the dentist for Novocaine. So what is it worth to endure that pain every hour of every day for the next 31 years?

When you multiply modest hourly figures across a full life expectancy, the numbers become substantial — and entirely defensible.

Anchor value in what people already understand

Bill's other powerful technique: connect damages to how people already think about value.

→ A Monet sells for $40 million because it is one of a kind.

→ Shohei Ohtani signed for $700 million because there is no one else like him.

→ Your client — the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's loved one — is also one of a kind. Irreplaceable. And the jury should value them accordingly.

These are not tricks. They are ways of helping ordinary people — who have never been asked to put a dollar figure on a human life — find a framework they can actually use.

The ejection seat

One more analogy Bill mentioned that many experienced trial lawyers have used: the military doesn't tell a pilot to ride a $100 million aircraft into the ground to save the plane. They say pull the ejection seat. Save yourself. The plane is replaceable. The pilot is not.

You don't tell a client to ride it down either.

Bill Shapiro is the 2026 National President of ABOTA, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a past CALBOTA Trial Lawyer of the Year. His full episode is available now on Trial Alchemy™.

To watch and listen to Bill's masterclass, watch the video above.

🎙 The entire Trial Alchemy™ podcast episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and my website 

If you have a case involving serious injury, wrongful death, or significant damages that’s heading towards trial and you need a mediator, I’d be happy to help. I handle mediations at ADR Services, Inc. — torts, insurance, employment, business, real property, and probate.

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Do well and be well.

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Best regards,
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Helping Attorneys Get Excellent Results
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