Winning Every Time

How to Use the Skills of a Lawyer in the Trials of Your Life
by Lis Wiehl

Step 1. Know what you want; The theory of the Case

• Determine Position
• Avoid Red Herrings
• Define Your Goal

Step 2. Choose and Cultivate your audience; Voir Dire

• Who Are Your Potential Jurors? [Right Person? Authority to Decide? Any Bias?]
  
• What Are You Going to Ask? [Identify with you. Hot Buttons? Open Ended. Written List]
  
• When Are You Going to Make Your Case?
• Where Are You Going to Make Your Case?
• Why?
• How?
  

Step 3. Marshal your evidence: Discovery

• Ask People, Order Documents, Follow Leads
• List Direct Evidence
• List Circumstantial Evidence [Connect the Dots, Add Intuition, Conclude]
• Identify Prejudicial Evidence, usually Emotional
• Identify Evidentiary Killers
• Develop Written Trial Plan [Start with the second of two most important pieces of evidence, stack the others to build upon each other, End with the most important evidence]
  

Step 4. Advocate with confidence: Argue the Case

• Establish Your Theme and Set Your tone
• Plan: Open with your Theory; Preview the Evidence; Ask for the Outcome You Want
• Write Out Leading and Open-ended Questions
• Present Your Case: Theory, Evidence, Ask Questions of the Juror
• Summarize with the Strongest Piece of Evidence and Make the Ask
  

Step 5. Counter the claims: Cross Examination

• Few Questions; all Yes-or-No
• Impeach, Expose Non-Truth, and Discredit Hearsay
• Don't Repeat the Direct; Make Strongest Points First and Last
• End With an Ask for Agreement

Step 6. Stay true to your case: Avoid the seven deadly spins

• Digression
• Over-promising
• Adding Last Minute Charges
• Using Hearsay
• Making Subjective Characterizations
• Drawing False Inferences
• Expressing Uncontrolled Emotion
  

Step 7. Advocate with heart: Let me tell you a story

Step 8. Sum it up: The closing Argument

• Start with Your Hook
• Sum up Your Most Important Evidence
• Resolve Any Weaknesses
• Refer to Sympathetic Elements; "Do what is right."
• Justify and Ask for the Verdict You Want.

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