Required reading for trial lawyers but also exceptionally informative for anyone interested in legal proceedings.
A book examines the ways in which noted attorneys deploy language to their tactical advantage.
Read (Winning at Deposition, 2012, etc.) heartily subscribes to the notion that the most effective lawyers are gifted storytellers and thus constructs this hefty tome around the power of language in legal settings. For starters, he deserves much credit for expertly curating a project of this magnitude. Each of the seven main sections—Opening Statement, Direct Examination, Cross-Examination, Cross-Examination of the Expert Witness, Closing Argument, Deposition, and Appellate Oral Argument—contains two or three chapters featuring selected attorneys and (as promised in the title) critical moments in illustrative cases. For uninitiated readers, Alan Dershowitz is probably the highest profile figure here, followed by Tom Girardi of Erin Brockovich fame. The range of topics is similarly impressive, from medical malpractice and adoption to SUV safety and the death penalty. The cases studied involve diverse elements, such as the Zapruder film, the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal, and the brutal attack on a San Francisco Giants fan in the Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium parking lot. Read is a master of organization and elucidation, guiding readers point by point through the testimony (with crucial phrases highlighted in boldface), with practice tips and notable quotes from the profiled attorney set off in the margins and revisited at the end of each chapter. “Telling the Story with a Reluctant Witness,” a chapter that focuses on Maureen O’Brien’s successful efforts to secure a rape conviction, stands out as a useful example of how Read structures the text for maximum efficiency and impact. In a succinct manner, the author shows readers how to transform leading questions into “specific non-leading questions” and demonstrates the importance of “looping”—“the technique of repeating a portion of the witness’ previous answer into your next question”—in order to reinforce critical information for the jury. He then proceeds to apply these tools by revealing how O’Brien uses them in the courtroom via a well-annotated trial transcript. As an added bonus, Read has created a companion website to house supplemental materials: video, audio, and additional transcripts.
Required reading for trial lawyers but also exceptionally informative for anyone interested in legal proceedings.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9850271-1-7
Page Count: 562
Publisher: Westway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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