An irrefutable principle is that a trial lawyer should carefully examine every exhibit that may go to the jury room. This bears repeating because of the consequences. Adhere to this rule or live to regret it. One cautionary tale I…

 I’m currently working on a new book on Lawyer Humor and this is a piece of it.Law schools should focus on producing professional communicators—lawyers—who are effective writers. However, Bryan A. Garner in his column for the ABA Journal titled,…

 Something for trial, something for cross-examination and something for other occasions. Click here for the book on Amazon 

 In Chapter 10 of the Cross-Examination Handbook, we explore the different methods witnesses use to evade the question and how to control the witness. Recently, the inimitable Elliot Wilcox discussed this topic in a blog piece entitled, “How…

 Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Leading questions on cross. Leading questions. Leading questions. Open-ended cross-examination questions can have repercussions.The following is a courtroom cross-examination exchange between a defense attorney and a plaintiff farmer with a bodily injury claim. Q:…

 In this month’s issue of the Bar Bulletin there is an article by Dr. Kevin Boully and Thomas M. O’Toole (my co-author on the Jury Selection Handbook) focusing on what not to say in trial. Regarding cross-examination the…

 Nothing makes us happier than the release of a newly published edition of an advocacy book, and Aspen Publishing has just launched the 5th edition of Trial Advocacy.The three of us–Marilyn Berger, John Mitchell and I–have been at this…