Name: Becoming a Trial Lawyer: A Guide for the Lifelong Advocate
Brand: Trial Guides
SKU: 9781941007426
Price: 125.0 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.8 (6 reviews)

Becoming a Trial Lawyer: A Guide for the Lifelong Advocate - Trial Guides

In the first edition of Becoming a Trial Lawyer, legendary advocate Rick Friedman taught us that the process of becoming a trial lawyer doesn’t end. Now, Friedman returns in this second edition with new lessons on losing, comparing yourself to others, luck, and more that prove a true advocate’s education is never finished.

Trial law is not for the weak of heart. Advocates at any stage of their careers know that attaining both a happy, healthy home and a successful practice is not easy. Friedman won’t profess to have the secret formula for a good life, but his extensive experience both inside the courtroom and out has helped him understand what it takes to balance the personal and professional, and here, he shares these ideas in what might be his most important text to date.

This book is about you. It’s about asking the hard questions and doing what it takes to gain experience, make connections, establish the right reputation, preempt mistakes, succeed at trial, and maintain happiness on a career path that is fraught with stress, conflict, and frustration. Becoming a Trial Lawyer: A Guide for the Lifelong Advocate provides a perfect combination of practical advice and uplifting insights to inspire you to better yourself and progress in your career with confidence.

*This book is available to students and lawyers practicing 5 years or less for $45.00 when registered for the Trial Guides New Lawyers program. You can find more information on how to register here.

Rick Friedman

Trial Lawyer

Paperback: 225 pages; 2nd edition (2015); ISBN: 978-1941007426

Publisher: Trial Guides, LLC

Foreword
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
Part I: Entering the Jungle
Why Be a Trial Lawyer?
Individual Billing Unit or Trial Lawyer?
Educating Yourself
Do You Have What It Takes?
Your First Trial
Beyond Technique
You and Your Opponents
Part II: Traps in the Jungle
Beware of Formulas
Do Not Expect Perfection
Forget Playing It Safe
More Is Not Better
Strategic Detachment
Your Lawyer Status Carries No Weight with the Jury
Forget about Looking Good
Don’t Try to Fool the Jury
Don’t Assume the Jury Will Respond _x000B_ to Your Favorite Arguments
The Limits of Logic and Sympathy
Don’t Gorge on Experts and Starve for Lay Witnesses
Spend More Time with Witnesses and Clients
Jurors Don’t Need to Like You or Your Client
Embrace Your Conservative Values
Silence Can Be Your Friend
You Must Ask for Money
Superstition
Part III: At Home in the Jungle
Therapy
The Cancer of Comparison
Losing
Luck
Settlement
Physical Health
Family and Friends
Competitors and Comrades
Partners and Staff
The Key to Unhappiness
Afterword
Recommended Reading List
Acknowledgements
About the Author

Becoming a Trial Lawyer: A Guide for the Lifelong Advocate

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What Legal Leaders Are Saying

In this amazing book, Rick Friedman plumbs the depths of the soul of a trial lawyer to reveal what scares us most and how to overcome those fears. For new lawyers and scarred veterans seeking inspiration to continue the fight, this book reminds us that it is not the fearless who are courageous, but those who, fully understanding the risk of loss, walk into the arena of the courtroom anyway.

— Randi McGinn, president of the Inner Circle of Advocates and author of Changing Laws, Saving Lives: How to Take On Corporate Giants and Win

By his own admission, Rick is not a ‘natural’ trial lawyer. Thus, he’s uniquely suited to write this much-needed book on the soul and essence of a trial lawyer, one who represents people, not corporations or entities. The journey begins with those who are considering a life’s work as a trial lawyer. It ends with those who verge on burn-out from the tremendous drain on family and self, having tilled the fields of justice for many years. As Rick writes, the book is not about him, but about you and your journey. While he discusses technique, the spirit of the book is Rick’s ability to peel back and expose the soul of the trial lawyer, better than any writer before him. His words are direct, candid, and in the end, uplifting. An absolute must-read, no matter where you are on your journey.

— Don Keenan, child advocate and member of the Inner Circle of Advocates

Rick Friedman’s latest book provides unique insights for anyone who is a trial lawyer or aspires to be one. Without formulas, edicts, or commandments, Friedman shows how to communicate with jurors and secure justice for deserving clients. It is a book not for the library, but for the nightstand. It will give confidence to those who do not feel that they are born for the courtroom, but know they have much to offer.

— Michael Koskoff, past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates and partner of Koskoff Koskoff and Bieder, Bridgeport, Connecticut

I have always craved the courtroom, but I spent years never feeling satisfied no matter the verdict. I was quickly becoming someone I didn’t want to be. Friedman’s insights have made me not just a better and happier trial lawyer, but a better and happier law partner, mother, and wife. Rick proves he gets us. He is us. His words give us courage to survive another day.

— Vanessa Cantley, member of the executive committee of the Kentucky Justice Association and founder of Bahe Cook Cantley and Nefzger PLC, Louisville, Kentucky

Once again, Mr. Friedman has written a book that should be in the library of every trial lawyer, particularly those in the beginning years of their careers. In the words of its author, Becoming a Trial Lawyer is ‘the book I wish I had found when I started practicing law,’ more than fifty years ago.

— Edmond Burke, Justice (retired), Supreme Court of Alaska, adjunct instructor of trial practice, University of Montana School of Law

Rick catches the true essence of being a trial lawyer—committing to following our own paths while doing so in service to others. From Clarence Darrow through Gerry Spence and to Rick Friedman—each guides us in understanding how we are transformed when we stand and represent another.

— Charles H. Rose, III, director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, Professor of Excellence in Trial Advocacy, Stetson University College of Law

From one of the country’s best trial lawyers comes some of the best advice about joining the wonderful, baffling, crucial profession of the trial lawyer—the profession and way of life that demands its practitioners dig deep into everything they are just to be any good. Being a trial lawyer—a good one—is a moral stance, a godsend to the wide world of those in need, and a constant campaign to get better at what you do. If that’s the life you want—more than you want the flat-line life of a corporate desk slave or insurance company lackey—then this is the next book to read.

— David Ball, PhD, author of David Ball on Damages

Even though I’ve been admitted to practice for fifteen years, I have been reluctant to go to trial, and have avoided it when I can. This book has given me new hope and enthusiasm for trial. This has to be the best lawyer book I have ever read. Every page is filled with ideas, thoughts, wisdom, humor, and insight. I wish I’d had this book when I was in law school. Once I started to read this, I couldn’t put it down. I am going to give this book to all my comrades. I am also going to give to my friends and family. This book has principles that can apply not just to lawyers, but to other occupations.

— Steve Alvarez, attorney in Tacoma, Washington

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