Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

THE FIVE STEPS OF PREPARATION FOR CROSS EXAMINATION Great cross examination requires hard work in preparation. It should not be done "off the cuff." So, what are the steps of preparation? I suggest that your preparation for cross examination should involve these five fundamental steps: 1. Determine the goals. What is you want to accomplish with this specific witness? What testimony the witness will offer can be used to achieve a specific goal that supports your case or undermines the…

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BASIC CROSS EXAMINATION PRINCIPLES There are some fundamental principles of cross examination that should be observed in most situations. These include the following: Make big points and ignore the details There is nothing more boring that a detailed, technical minute point by technical point in cross examination. Make your point a broad one without a lot of irrelevant details. Stick with big obvious points that the jury will see and understand without having to follow a lot of detailed information….

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The Spence Trial College conducts regional seminars around the country. At this year’s regional seminar in Washington,the topic was cross examination. The college approach involves: (1) role reversal: Become the witness; identify what the witness is afraid of/devoted to/motivated by and why (2) What is the story that advances your case? Determine what story you want told by: witnesses, client, experts and the juror’s story as well as the universal story. My talk affirmed this approach and consisted of these…

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