The First Principle of Effective Advocacy: Speak the Truth

• Author: Hon. Leon Holmes
• Pages: 6-8

Appellate Practice American Bar Association Litigation Section Spring 2024, Vol. 43 No. 2 The First Principle of Effective Advocacy: Speak the Truth Leon Holmes Mar 14, 2024 Speak the truth. That is the first principle of effective advocacy. A lawyer engaged as an advocate must find some truth that can form the centerpiece of a theory of the case—the truth that, given the facts and the law, has the potential to yield the best attainable result for the client. That truth might be a fact or set of facts, a legal principle, a procedural point, a period of limitations, an interpretation of case law, or some combination of those things. That truth is a pearl of great price, a treasure buried in a field, for which the lawyer must search by investigating the facts and researching the law. Of course, methods and techniques of presentation have an important place in advocacy. However, the methods and techniques of presentation, whether oral or written, are secondary to the first principle: speak the truth. The alternative is to ascertain what positions, if adopted by the court or jury, would yield the result that the client desires and then to search for arguments that support those positions. No doubt, this alternative is often adopted by lawyers; but, even aside from the moral ambiguities inherent in this approach to advocacy, it is not the approach that is more likely to persuade the court or...