Cognitive biases profoundly impact both workplace decisions and legal outcomes, yet most attorneys lack formal training in recognizing and addressing them. This presentation equips plaintiffs’ attorneys across all practice areas—with special focus on employment law—and defense counsel representing corporations and government entities with evidence-based strategies to identify and mitigate bias in underlying disputes and throughout the legal process.

Drawing from cutting-edge behavioral science research, this session covers prominent cognitive biases that distort decision-making, including confirmation bias, anchoring bias, and fundamental attribution error. Participants will discover how these biases shape original events—from workplace discrimination to civil rights claims and police use of force—as well as how they affect witness testimony, jury deliberations, settlement negotiations, and judicial rulings.

Key learning objectives include: — Identifying specific cognitive biases that drive discriminatory workplace decisions and other harmful actions
— Recognizing how biases influence the legal process from filing through verdict
— Assessing where explicit and implicit bias infiltrates various types of cases
— Mastering peer-reviewed techniques for bias mitigation
— Developing practical implementation strategies for your practice

The presentation also addresses the ethical dimensions of cognitive biases in legal practice, examining when leveraging biases crosses ethical boundaries versus when failing to address them perpetuates injustice. Through real-world case studies centered on employment law, participants will learn principles applicable across practice areas. Employment attorneys will discover how to demonstrate cognitive biases behind discriminatory workplace actions. Civil rights attorneys will gain parallel insights for their cases. Defense counsel will acquire tools to distinguish between actual bias and legitimate decisions, evaluate claims objectively, and help corporate clients recognize and prevent bias in their practices.

Participants will leave with actionable strategies to enhance credibility before judges and juries, improve client outcomes, and advance justice. Whether you’re advocating for employees facing discrimination, representing injury victims, or defending organizations against bias claims, this science-based approach transforms how you practice law. Join this session to gain a competitive edge while promoting a more equitable legal system through the systematic application of debiasing techniques.

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Oregon judges and their lawyer staff, 50-year OSB licensees, and Active Pro Bono OSB licensees—please call the OSB CLE Service Center at (503) 431-6413 or toll-free at (800) 452-8260, ext. 413, to register.

Please note that it may take up to 30 days after you complete this seminar for it to appear on your online MCLE Compliance Report at www.osbar.org.