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The Elements of Trial

Rick Friedman & Bill Cummings
$95.00
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Also Available: The Elements of Trial (Audiobook)

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One of America's leading litigators, and Trial Guides' bestselling author, Rick Friedman brings you the first practical text on the fundamental skills you need to know when handling a trial. With trial experience increasingly rare, The Elements of Trial provides a concise guide for law professors, law students, and every lawyer preparing for trial.

This book offers invaluable advice on the following aspects of trial:

  • Investigating your case
  • Interviewing and preparing witnesses
  • Organizing trial notebooks, discovery information, trial briefs, and exhibits
  • Creating a theme
  • Choosing or drafting jury instructions
  • Asking questions of the court clerk and judicial assistant
  • Framing your case-in-chief
  • Filing motions in limine
  • Pretrial hearings
  • Making objections and understanding juror perceptions about the use of objections in trial
  • Bench conferences
  • Moving exhibits into evidence
  • Voir dire (including your purpose beyond cause and peremptory challenges)
  • Opening statement (structure, themes, establishing credibility, and what you should never do)
  • Direct examination
  • Cross-examination (constructive and destructive)
  • Making a record
  • Directed verdict/motion for judgment as a matter of law
  • Rebuttal case
  • Charging conference
  • Closing argument
  • Taking the verdict and polling the jury
  • Posttrial motions
  • Your impact on the trial

The book also explains the applicable law related to each part of trial and offers ways to effectively implement the techniques and methods that Friedman and Cummings present.

*This book is available for $45 for New Lawyers and Law Students who have been accepted into our New Lawyers Program. Please call our office at 800-309-6845 to receive this exclusive discount.

 

Authors

Rick Friedman

Trial Lawyer

Bill Cummings

Trial Lawyer

Details

Paperback: 272 pages; 1st edition (2013); ISBN: 978-1934833889

Publisher: Trial Guides, LLC

Table of Contents
  1. Publisher's Note
  2. Acknowledgement
  3. Introduction
  4. An Overview
  5. Jury Instructions
  6. Investigation
  7. Fighting Chaos
  8. Assessing Your Case-in-Chief
  9. Trial Briefs and Motions in Limine
  10. The Pretrial Hearing
  11. Jury Selection (Voir Dire)
  12. Opening Statement
  13. Presenting Your Case-in-Chief: Direct Examination
  14. Cross-Examination
  15. Making a Record
  16. Directed Verdict
  17. Rebuttal Case
  18. The Charging Conference
  19. Closing Argument
  20. Jury Questions and Taking the Verdict
  21. Posttrial Motions
  22. You
  23. Conclusion
  24. Index
  25. About the Authors

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The Elements of Trial

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What Legal Leaders Are Saying

From all that law-school stuff, this nifty book distills the essentials (and adds to them) that new trial attorneys need before their first cases begin. A clear, concise checklist organized for every stage of trial, and quickly read, Friedman and Cummings’s fundamentals and wisdoms start new lawyers off in the right direction and help keep them there. I suggest a triple reading before your first case and thorough reviews before your next half dozen. You’ll learn how to be professional when you’d otherwise still be an amateur.

— David Ball, author of David Ball on Damages 3 and Reptile

Rick Friedman and Bill Cummings’s recent The Elements of Trial is an excellent resource to assist law students and lawyers [to] understand the basics of an American trial. These experienced and esteemed authors provide an analysis and exploration of all stages of both civil and criminal trials, and offer valuable suggestions that will help any active litigator improve their practice.

— Jim Perdue, member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, author of Winning with Stories, I Remember Atticus, and Who Will Speak for the Victim?

Law schools should make The Elements of Trial required reading for every law school student! An easily understood and informative explanation about each step of the trial process, it is a valuable reference and learning source for both the experienced and aspiring trial lawyer!

— Larry Roberts, trial attorney, Tennessee

The Elements of Trial is the missing manual on trial practice. While there have been basic questions about trial practice for as long as the jury system has been in existence, there has never before been so concise and authoritative a how-to guide as Rick’s newest book. In Rick’s usual style, The Elements of Trial is direct and unassuming, full of both wisdom and nuts-and-bolts explanations of how to try a case. To the reader, it is as if Rick is serving as a personal trial advocacy teacher, replacing the young lawyer’s usual supply of uncertainty and fear with support and guidance. I look forward to using The Elements of Trial with my students for years to come.

— Spencer Pahlke, lecturer and director of Trial Competition Teams, UC Berkeley School of Law

Up until now, there has been a deep, mutually exclusive divide between trial practitioners and law school teachers of trial advocacy, with both camps thinking that the other does not offer them much of value. In truth, a collaborative dialogue between these two worlds would lead to much more dynamic, integrated learning opportunities. That is exactly why Elements of Trial is such an exciting breakthrough book, geared both to training with the legal academy and in continuing education circles. It is the mark of a master teacher to write with the needs of the target audience firmly in mind, focusing on knowledge critical to understanding the subject. Rick Friedman is not only an outstanding trial lawyer who has had astonishing success in courtrooms across the United States, but also an acclaimed author on trial techniques. He is one of those rare practitioners with the gift of identifying and distilling critical information on pretrial and trial techniques into simple, easy to understand units. Mr. Friedman and his coauthor Bill Cummings have collaborated to produce an instant classic, written and edited with scrupulous economy, leaving the reader with a deep awareness that otherwise would take years of experience to achieve, if at all. The Elements of Trial is a book that reaches across the aisle and offers something for everyone. I enthusiastically recommend it, particularly looking forward to what it will bring to my classrooms.

— William S. Bailey, professor from practice, University of Washington School of Law, author of Show the Story: The Power of Visual Advocacy

In the toolbox of all the trial advocacy books, this stands out as the Swiss Army knife. It’s all here, from initial client interviews to posttrial motions. Each chapter takes an element of the trial and clearly sets out what to do, how to do it, and why it’s important. Whether you are a recent graduate preparing for your first trial or a veteran of the courtroom, this practical guide to success belongs in your trial bag.

— Robert Spohrer, member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, listed in Best Lawyers in America

Rick Friedman’s new book is, in a word, superb. It is everything that a trial should be: short, succinct, and full of useful information. Rick doesn’t waste any time with platitudes: his ideas are fresh, original, and thoughtful. This book will show you how to try a case from start to finish. If you follow Rick’s advice, you should be able to win more cases for your clients—even if you’re a novice. But make no mistake—this book isn’t just for the novice. It’s a must-read for anyone who is serious about becoming a better advocate. I just wish I had written it!

— Carol Anderson, clinical professor at Wake Forest University Law School

Overall rating: 4.5384617 / 5 from 13 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: [resource, book, lawyer, guide].

Review highlights

Reviews

Excellent for beginners

"Great overview of basics"

— Jeremy A. (5/5)

This is an excellent resource

"This is an excellent resource for someone new to taking a case all the way through trial. Very well written and organized an concise."

— Eric K. (5/5)

Great book!

"Changed the game"

— Harrison L. (5/5)

Very informative and easy to

"Very informative and easy to follow."

— Lyaman K. (5/5)

Fundamentals

"I recommend this book as an early read for any young lawyer interested in trying cases. Easy to read and lots of excellent teaching points."

— TAYLOR B. (5/5)

Great for New Trial Attorneys

"I haven't completed the book, but so far, it's a great resource for a new trial attorney. The book is organized and so far the writer doesn't ramble or get off topic easily. The book is organized, focused, and includes advice from seasoned attorneys."

— Joerika S. (5/5)

The Elements of Trial

"This book gives you the fundamentals of trial practice. It was just what I was looking for and just what I needed"

— Eva C. (5/5)

Solid review of trial.

"This is a great primer and overview of trial, from start to finish. It is probably especially valuable for newer attorneys and those who didn't have a clerkship experience to see these techniques done for one or more years."

— Terence W. (5/5)

The Elements of Trial.

"Not great."

— Leticia F. (1/5)

Excellent

"Excellent"

— Thomas S. (5/5)

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The Elements of Trial - Trial Guides
Trial Guides

The Elements of Trial

$95.00

 

One of America's leading litigators, and Trial Guides' bestselling author, Rick Friedman brings you the first practical text on the fundamental skills you need to know when handling a trial. With trial experience increasingly rare, The Elements of Trial provides a concise guide for law professors, law students, and every lawyer preparing for trial.

This book offers invaluable advice on the following aspects of trial:

The book also explains the applicable law related to each part of trial and offers ways to effectively implement the techniques and methods that Friedman and Cummings present.

*This book is available for $45 for New Lawyers and Law Students who have been accepted into our New Lawyers Program. Please call our office at 800-309-6845 to receive this exclusive discount.

 

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