Turning Points at Trial: Great Lawyers Share Secrets, Strategies and Skills, 0117 COBJ, Vol. 46 No. 1 Pg. 59
| Author | Stan Morris, J. |
Reviews of Legal Resources
Stan Morris, J.
by Shane Read Westway Publishing, 2016 562 pp.; $39.95
Shane Read's Turning Points at Trial is an excellent resource for trial and appellate attorneys who understand the benefits of studying the work of top-of-the-line attorneys. The book highlights exceptional trial techniques through 17 chapters, each devoted to a specific lawyer. These chapters are further organized into seven parts: (1) opening statement, (2) direct examination, (3) cross-examination, (4) cross of the expert, (5) closing argument, (6) deposition, and (7) appellate oral argument. Rather than simply explaining what the lawyers did during each phase of the trial, the author includes portions of trial transcripts to illustrate how the attorneys steered their subjects to generate the desired effect from opening statements through closing arguments.
The first chapter features plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier, who won a billion-dollar jury verdict from Merck & Co. as a result of injury and death from use of Vioxx for arthritis and other painful disorders. Lanier began working on his opening argument months before it was delivered. Once in the courtroom, using PowerPoint, he walked the jury through what he intended to show. He then asked jurors to participate in the trial as silent associate "CSIs," a reference to the popular television show. When it was time for closing argument, Lanier reminded jurors of his request that they be CSIs, drawing them in as active participants. Notably, because the book is organized by phase of trial, the reader has to wait until part 5 for the discussion of Lanier's closing argument in Merck. Many of the book's other discussions are similarly structured.
As with almost everything involved with the practice of law, however, there are exceptions. The first chapter on Bryan Stevenson (opening statements) deviates from the general structure of the book in that it summarizes his TED talks about trials and societal problems. The second chapter on Stevenson (appellate argument) is more in line with the rest of the book, examining his appellate work in several cases.
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is also the subject of two chapters. The first...
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