How many times a day do you ask judges, clients, or co-workers to do something or to give you something? During any given week, you probably make hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of requests. You ask your co-worker to work on a project, you ask your assistant to handle a client issue, you ask your kids to help with the dishes… The number of requests that you make each week is staggering. But how many of those requests are actually granted? Have you ever had a problem with someone not doing not what...
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Closing argument is your final chance to sway jurors. This is the last time you’ll be able to address the jurors and show them why your client deserves to win. If any of the jurors are sitting on the fence, this is your last, best chance to move them to your side. So why do so many lawyers squander this opportunity? Many lawyers spend their entire closing argument making arguments like this: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there’s no doubt that we have ...
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Recently I was helping a friend draft a cover letter. If you’ve ever spent much time reading resumes and cover letters, you know that most of them say something along the lines of, “Me! Me! Me! I’m awesome! I’m amazing! I’m the best!” But here’s the problem… Employers don’t care about you. They don’t care how awesome you are, how smart you are, or how skilled you are. What they really care about is what you can do for them. They want to...
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Have you ever dreamt of conducting a “perfect” impeachment during cross-examination? You know, the type of cross-examination that usually only happens in the movies, impeaching the witness by pinning down their in-court testimony, and then calling them a “liar” when you confront them with undisputed proof that shows their statement is false? Almost every lawyer I know salivates at the prospect of impeaching a witness like that. But before you start calling the witness a...
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During closing argument, you want to drive your arguments home to the jury. It’s not persuasive to merely say, “The witness is wrong because she’s biased.” You need to be able to help the jurors understand how that bias affected her testimony and why they shouldn’t believe her. Before you start preparing your next closing argument, start collecting the stories and analogies that will help you persuade the jurors. Here are nine resources to help you develop persuasive closing...
