Polarizing the Case: Exposing & Defeating the Malingering Myth

Rick Friedman

Format: Hardcover
Condition: New
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Sale price$135.00

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Polarizing the Case is the #3 book of all time at Trial Guides, just behind Rules of the Road and David Ball on Damages. It has been called "the bible for anyone trying cases in today's climate" by legendary trial lawyer Brian Panish.

With Rules of the Road™, Rick Friedman (with co-author Patrick Malone) changed the way tens of thousands of plaintiff's lawyers try their cases. In the process, he established himself as one of the nation's leading tacticians in the battle for civil justice. With Polarizing the Case, Friedman teaches us not to fear allegations or insinuations that our client is malingering or exaggerating injuries. 

Polarizing the Case is split into two parts.  Part one discusses the Polarizing method. This method is critical in any type of personal injury case where the defense will infer that your client is either faking or exaggerating their injuries.  Instead of saying the client is lying, the defense witnesses will say the client is "malingering" (a conscious decision to fake or exaggerate symptoms) or that the client has either "somatoform disorder" or "somatization disorder" (both unconscious forms of faking and exaggerating symptoms).  These allegations are almost always an intentional decision by the defense witness to mislead jurors when the injured person has well substantiated injuries. Often the defense witness will use junk science such as the Fake Bad Scale to represent to the jury that they can confirm that the client is lying.

Rick Friedman defines the problem, and offers a solution.  He takes you through screening and preparing the case, writing the complaint, discovery, what to look for in the IME report, and deposing the defendant and the defense doctor.  He discusses the choice between revealing the defense expert deception in deposition versus trial.  From there he turns to trial preparation, motions in limine, voir dire, opening, your case in chief, cross examination of the defense doctor, and closing statement.  In each phase of pre-litigation case development and within litigation and trial, Rick discusses how to fight defense lawyers and defense lawyers who claim your client is malingering, or has somatoform disorder or somatization disorder. He discusses how to clearly demonstrate to the jury that the defense will count your client's honest answers on the MMPI personality test against them, and how they will misrepresent they have scientific substantiation that your client is a liar.

In the second part of Polarizing the Case, you get "directors cut" insights of the Polarizing method in one of Rick Friedman's trials.  He walks you through the trial transcript discussing how and why he made the choices he did to achieve a great outcome in a conservative jurisdiction.  He provides you an introduction to the case, the husband's testimony, the plaintiff's doctor's testimony, a friend's testimony, the client's testimony, the cross examination of the defense doctor, and then closing statement.  

Polarizing the Case may not be for the faint of heart, but it is very effective.  Tens of thousands of lawyers have purchased Polarizing the Case, many of whom have created careers filled with stunning verdicts using this method.  When done correctly, unveiling the defense doctor deception of the jury, the results can be explosive.  Don't miss this important book.

Paperback: 356 pages; 1st edition (2007); ISBN: 978-1941007082
Publisher: Trial Guides, LLC
  1. Introduction
  2. Part I: Description
  3. Defining the Problem
  4. A Solution
  5. Screening and Preparing the Case
  6. The Complaint
  7. Written Discovery
  8. Deposing the Defendant
  9. The IME Report
  10. Deposing the Treating Doctor
  11. Depsoing the IME Doctor
  12. Calling the Expert's Bluff
  13. Motions in Limine
  14. Tone at Trial
  15. Voir Dire
  16. Opening
  17. Case in Chief
  18. Cross Examination of the IME Doctor
  19. Closing
  20. The Psychologic of Polarizing
  21. A Chapter for Defense Counsel
  22. Polarizing in Other Types of Cases
  23. Part II: Illustration
  24. The Lace Case
  25. Opening Statements
  26. The Husband's Testimony
  27. The Plaintiff's Neuropsychologist's Testimony
  28. The Friend's Testimony
  29. The Client's Testimony
  30. The IME Doctor's Testimony
  31. Closing Arguments
  32. Appendix A
  33. Appendix B

What Legal Leaders Are Saying

Before trial, we were offered nothing. At trial, I used Polarizing the Case for the first time. My client had $17,000 in medical bills for rotator cuff surgery. The defense attacked my client, who was an honest, hard-working family man, as a liar, cheat, and fraud who was trying to get something for nothing. After trial, before the verdict, we were offered $125,000—my client refused. The jury returned a verdict of $500,000. Polarizing the Case is a masterpiece that I recommend to every plaintiff’s attorney!

— Larry V. Roberts
5 out of 5 stars 20 total reviews
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Karen L. 🇺🇸
Verified Buyer
Encouraging
Rick Friedman has given me he courage to be bold and polarizing! Playing the middle is a comfort zone for this old criminal defense attorney. As I move into plaintiffs trial work, I will not be afraid to take Rick’s advice!
Published date
10/25/22
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Susan D. 🇺🇸
Verified Buyer
Seems so simple, yet the
Seems so simple, yet the book is a roadmap to getting there
Published date
02/20/22
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Herbert G. 🇺🇸
Verified Buyer
An excellent primer on overcoming
An excellent primer on overcoming the prevailing bias against plaintiff personal injury attorneys and their clients who are often characterized as “liars,cheats and frauds “ by defendants and their experts. Well worthy of your time and very...
Published date
02/02/22
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Thomas S. 🇺🇸
Verified Buyer
Excellent.
Excellent.
Published date
01/12/22
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Jim P. 🇺🇸
Verified Buyer
Found the book to be
Found the book to be very helpful.
Published date
11/06/21
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