The Fearless Cross-Examiner: Win the Witness, Win the Case

Patrick Malone

Format: Hardcover
Condition: New
Price:
Sale price$165.00

From Patrick Malone, co-creator of the groundbreaking Rules of the Road™ trial technique, comes another important book: The Fearless Cross-Examiner. The current approach to cross-examination is dated, and in this book, Malone systematically demolishes these tired and restrictive ideas in favor of a more adaptable and effective approach.

The Fearless Cross-Examiner gives a detailed look at what it takes to conduct case-winning cross-examinations. Malone offers advice on the place of cross in successful case-building, how you can discredit dishonest witnesses without alienating the jury, and on how to combat the various problems you will encounter during cross-examinations. He also provides perspectives on how personal reflection and self-improvement can help your performance during cross.

Framed by the antiquated commandments of cross-examination and informed by the Rules of the Road™ method, The Fearless Cross-Examiner is a masterful guide to winning despite difficult adverse witnesses. This new method refuses to shy away from the stressful reality of cross in high-tension courtroom environments. Instead, it confronts this reality head-on through real-world trial excerpts and examples from America’s leading trial lawyers, including David Boies, Rick Friedman, F. Lee Bailey, and more. This book will allow lawyers of any experience level to gain confidence; improve their cross-examination techniques; and perform at their best in depositions, arbitrations, and trials.

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Hardcover: 417 pages; 1st edition (2016); ISBN: 978-1941007532
Publisher: Trial Guides, LLC
  1. Publisher's Note
  2. Introduction
  3. Part I: You, the Cross-Examiner
  4. Laying the Mental Foundation
  5. Freeing Yourself from the Ten Commandments of Cross
  6. Choosing the Weapons Right for You
  7. Part II: Building the Case with Cross-Examination
  8. Cross-Examination with Case-Building Rules
  9. Witness Self-Interest and Case-Building Cross
  10. Using Treatises to Get to Yes
  11. Part III: Tearing Down the Witness
  12. Planning: The Essential Weapon for Speed
  13. Cross-Examination with Witness Tear-Down Rules
  14. Fixing Contradictions Cross
  15. Exposing the Ignorant Witness
  16. Shooting It Out with the Hired-Gun Witness
  17. Polarizing the Extreme Witness
  18. Fundamental Attribution
  19. Mining for Dirt
  20. Part IV: Problems and Solutions
  21. Evidence Rules Every Cross-Examiner Must Know
  22. Calling the Adverse Party
  23. Technique Problems and Their Cures
  24. Controlling the Runaway Witness
  25. Part V: Bringing It Home
  26. Pulling Together What We’ve Learned
  27. Appendices
  28. Appendix A: Truisms and Rules
  29. Appendix B: Writing Better Rules for Cross-Examination
  30. Acknowledgments
  31. Sources
  32. Index
  33. About the Author

What Legal Leaders Are Saying

How often do you see a law book that is both revolutionary and laugh-out-loud funny? The Fearless Cross-Examiner is. Chock-full of innovative tips, real trial transcript examples, and fresh approaches to cross-examination, Malone’s book takes the panic out of cross-examination and puts you back in the driver’s seat. This one is a winner.

— Zoe Littlepage, 2015 winner of the American Bar Association’s Pursuit of Justice Award

I was skeptical before I opened this book. What could be added to a subject covered almost as much as the presidential campaigns? Then Malone grabbed my attention and never let go. Now, having read through it, I can only say this is brilliant, genuinely insightful, and thought provoking.

— Hon. Marcus Z. Shar, judge, Baltimore City (Md.) Circuit Court, and former trial lawyer

In this definitive Bible on the most effective truth-revealing tool in a lawyer’s arsenal, Pat Malone rewrites Irving Younger’s ten rules of cross-examination for the modern courtroom. The lesson? If you are still crossing witnesses the way you learned in law school, you are probably doing it wrong. Whether you have been a practicing lawyer for years or are brand new to the profession, this book is a must-read.

— Randi McGinn, president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, author of Changing Laws, Saving Lives

As usual, Patrick Malone challenges the traditions many trial lawyers have inherited and forces us to examine whether there is a better way. He brings tools that will heighten anyone’s game, from beginner to seasoned pro, and I heartily recommend this book.

— Mark Lanier, Trial Lawyer of the Year 2015, AAJ Lifetime Achievement Award

The Fearless Cross-Examiner is a really excellent book. Despite having taught the art of cross-examination for more than forty years, I learned a lot from Malone about how to become a more strategic, analytical, and effective cross-examiner.

— Stephen Wizner, William O. Douglas clinical professor emeritus and professorial lecturer at Yale Law School, dean of the faculty at the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and recipient of the Richard S. Jacobson Trial Advocacy Teaching Award and the Theodore I. Koskoff Award

Pat Malone, a gifted trial lawyer, teacher, and author, adds to his list of excellent trial strategy books with one that is destined to become a classic. I will keep it close at hand during deposition and trial preparation, and our clients will benefit from his willingness to share what he has learned.

— Roxanne Conlin, past president of the American Association for Justice

This down-to-earth book features practical tips and helpful examples of proven, effective cross-examination methods that even experienced lawyers will benefit from knowing.

— Paul Luvera, member emeritus of the Inner Circle of Advocates, listed in Best Lawyers in America

Malone once again takes ‘conventional wisdom,’ shows how unwise it is, and makes us all better trial lawyers with his new approach. He makes the journey useful, readable, and even fun.

— Bart Dalton, president elect of the American College of Trial Lawyers

[It’s] the bible to twenty-first-century cross-examination. Any attorney, or any person for that matter, who is asking questions and searching for information must read this book. This is what they should be teaching in law school.

— Jordan Merson, listed in the New York Law Journal Hall of Fame for medical malpractice, obtained the largest verdict in Westchester County in 2014, listed as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” for 2015

This is the finest book on cross-examination I have ever read.

— Mark Mandell, member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, author of Case Framing