Be more persuasive in the courtroom by adapting techniques used in the theater. When used correctly these methods are invisible--yet they motivate jurors to argue for your side effectively and tenaciously.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"I am a young attorney in Burlington, Iowa, and I had only tried six cases before reading Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials. On my seventh trial I tried a dramshop case, which several attorneys told me that I could not win. In fact, defense counsel refused to even offer a settlement because they were so sure of victory. The jury returned a verdit of $1.25 million. I would not have been able to get this kind of verdict without having read David Ball's book. I learned more about how to try a case in one reading of Mr. Ball's book than I would have learned in a lifetime of trials." -- Attorney John M. Loeschen, Burlington, Iowa
"In well-organized chapters on trial's characters, rehersal techniques, audience, props, plot, and point of view, Ball's book provides useful advice to both novice and experienced legal actors. Even those who never try a jury case will learn a lot about audience persuasion, which is a crucial skill in many theaters of a lawyer's life besides courtrooms." -- Lawyers Weekly USA
"Packed with useful information and good techniques that will make you a better communicator and a more effective advocate." -- Professor James W. McElhaney, Case Western Reserve Law School, Cleveland, Ohio
"This is the single best book of this type I have seen in 33 years. It should, in my view, form the basis for most of our training. I encourage all of you to read, study and practice the techniques." -- Attorney Fred H. Bartlit, Jr. Chicago, Illinois
"In well-organized chapters on trial's characters, rehersal techniques, audience, props, plot, and point of view, Ball's book provides useful advice to both novice and experienced legal actors. Even those who never try a jury case will learn a lot about audience persuasion, which is a crucial skill in many theaters of a lawyer's life besides courtrooms." -- Lawyers Weekly USA
"Packed with useful information and good techniques that will make you a better communicator and a more effective advocate." -- Professor James W. McElhaney, Case Western Reserve Law School, Cleveland, Ohio
"This is the single best book of this type I have seen in 33 years. It should, in my view, form the basis for most of our training. I encourage all of you to read, study and practice the techniques." -- Attorney Fred H. Bartlit, Jr. Chicago, Illinois
About the Author
David Ball, PhD., a nationally known jury consultant and trial skills trainer, is a leading authority on adapting audience persuasion techniques from theater and film to in-court use. Trained in communications, theater, and film, his credits as a director, producer, and playwright include the Guthrie Theater, Broadway and off-Broadway, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duke University, where he chaired Drama.
He has taught law students at Duke, the universities of North Carolina, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh, and Campbell University as Adjunct Professor of Law. He writes for a variety of law publications, and his NITA book Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials is a national best-seller. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is an Art to Trial Advocacy,
By
This review is from: Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials (Paperback)
This book is the perfect supplement for a trial advocacy textbook. David Ball brings a valuable and fresh perspective to trial lawyers. He can do so because he is not a lawyer, but rather has an extensive background in theater such as being the former chair of the theater department at Duke University. Now, he is a professional trial consultant. For example, Ball urges lawyers to take the lessons that actors, directors and playwrights have mastered (such as the importance of telling a story that reaches the emotions of the audience) and using those techniques at trial. He makes one of many great points when he suggests how a lawyer might have ended Hamlet (badly) as opposed to how Shakespeare did. He then shows how anyone can take the lessons from Shakespeare to craft a strong ending to a closing argument in trial.
For opening statements in a personal injury case he teaches that instead of beginning with a saying such as "Driving too fast is negligent," you should capture the jury's attention with "Last August the truck driver sitting over there was going too fast and killed a little girl." Lawyers are too often focused on the details executing techniques and Ball reminds us that developing the art of trial advocacy is the most important skill of all.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a bargain at any cost,
By Ron (WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials (Paperback)
At a legal seminar I attended in Seattle, attorney Paul Luvera recommended this book. I figure if Luvera reads it, I'll read.
As it turns out, each page is stuffed with great advise. I gave up on using the highlighter because everything was highlighted.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book for every litigation attorney,
By humdinger (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Theater Tips and Strategies for Jury Trials (Paperback)
I am a defense attorney and this book is fabulous! Its an easy read and creative. I highly recommend it for any attorney that goes before a jury.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the theater of the courtroom, you are one of the stars. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
soft bias, undecided jurors, favorable jurors, jury voir dire, getting jurors, jury leaders, different jurors, juror interviews, backwards analysis, trial consultants, big bad bear, jury clerk, juror attention, visual exhibit, voir dire questions, exhibit companies, other jurors, many jurors, video depositions, own focus groups, juror reactions, juror attitudes, opposition witness, props list, trial advocacy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bad List, Sally Brown, Good List, Humanizing Non-Human Cases, North Carolina, Miss Borden, Officer Norton, Counsel Black, Diane Wiley, Lewis Carroll, Mary Ryan, Sally Jones, Sam Smith, Shakespeare's Hamlet New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the theater of the courtroom, you are one of the stars. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
soft bias, undecided jurors, favorable jurors, jury voir dire, getting jurors, jury leaders, different jurors, juror interviews, backwards analysis, trial consultants, big bad bear, jury clerk, juror attention, visual exhibit, voir dire questions, exhibit companies, other jurors, many jurors, video depositions, own focus groups, juror reactions, juror attitudes, opposition witness, props list, trial advocacy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Bad List, Sally Brown, Good List, Humanizing Non-Human Cases, North Carolina, Miss Borden, Officer Norton, Counsel Black, Diane Wiley, Lewis Carroll, Mary Ryan, Sally Jones, Sam Smith, Shakespeare's Hamlet New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 70
books:
See all 70 books this book cites
5
books
cite this book:
- Jury Selection by V. Hale Starr on page 60, and Back Matter
- Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep, by William C. Dement on page 141, and Back Matter
- Litigation & Trial Practice for the Legal Assistant by Roderick D. Blanchard on page 314, and Back Matter
- Duke University NC 2006 (College Prowler Off the Record) by Margaret Campbell in Front Matter
- What the Butler Saw (Modern Classics) by Joe Orton in Back Matter
See all 70 books this book cites
- Arbitration Advocacy (NITA Practical Guide Series) by John W. Cooley on page 107
- In the Hands of the People: The Trial Jury's Origins, Triumphs, Troubles, and Future in American Democracy by William L. Dwyer in Back Matter
- David Ball on Damages: A Plaintiff's Attorney's Guide for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases by David Ball in Back Matter
- Trials: Strategy, Skills, And the New Powers of Persuasion (Coursebook) by Thomas A. Mauet on page 12
- Legally Speaking: 40 Powerful Presentation Principles Lawyers Need to Know by David J. Dempsey in Back Matter
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