From Hostage to Hero: Captivate the Jury by Setting Them Free

My experience, over fifty-five years of trial work involving well over one hundred jury trials, confirms the unique insight about the jury selection process which is so clearly outlined in this book. A lot of articles and books have been written over the years about jury selection concepts, but this is the first book I’ve read which so clearly and understandably provides accurate insight about the true precepts involved. Every trial lawyer who is involved in a jury trial should read this book first.

Sari expertly combines the many years of training and practice I have personally experienced through her coaching into one book. If there is just one thing that you take from Sari and her book, it’s that you must focus on yourself to become a great trial lawyer. If you only focus on the jurors, you are missing the bigger picture. Sari will show you what you are really communicating to jurors (you may be surprised) and cautions trial attorneys to turn the camera on themselves before attempting to understand the body language of jurors. Read the book! Sari will teach you how to look at yourself and your jury in an entirely different way.

Fear is often the single greatest reason we lose cases. Ms. de la Motte does an outstanding job of addressing the fear both we and the jurors experience. She addresses the threat response and how it affects both the juror’s brains and ours as well. We NEED to understand how the brain works in order to be successful. This book is very helpful to lawyers in the trenches. It addresses issues that every trial lawyer faces and is a must-read.

I first met Sari when she presented at an Inner Circle of Advocates meeting. I was impressed by her ability to simplify the difficult art of effective and authentic communication. I’ve now had the privilege of working with Sari on multiple cases and have never been disappointed by the value she adds. Effective and authentic communication, particularly in today’s day and age, is paramount. This book is a must-read for every lawyer who’s willing to invest the energy and discipline into becoming a better trial lawyer through refined, authentic, and effective communication.

No one has thought more about how trial lawyers can do a better job enlisting and communicating with jurors than Sari de la Motte.  Her workshops on voir dire and opening statement are intense, lively, and deeply empowering. With her book, Sari has done the remarkable: she has distilled her expertise on such topics as group formation, personality types (of jurors and lawyers), trust building, persuasion—grounded in science and years of observation—and presented it all in an accessible and, yes, lively read. She is wary of one-size-fits-all prescriptions; this book will be useful for every trial lawyer, whatever her strengths, weaknesses, and experience. This is a book I will always go to as I prepare for trial.

When I read this book, I honestly thought it was written for me. I have certainly felt like a failure as I have lost cases and wondered why. As trial lawyers, we often hear the success stories about the seven-figure verdicts. It is reassuring and motivating to know that losing is not really failure and that many, many other attorneys are, or have been, in the same boat. In my opinion, this is a must-read for any trial attorney!

The single most important decision factor for a lawyer in purchasing a book is this: does the time I spend reading it make me that much better, give me greater insight, and propel me to greater heights? In this case, the answers are yes, yes, and YES. I was asked to read and review the book. Sari is a trusted friend, a nonlawyer teacher who views legal issues more in line with how other nonlawyers, like jurors, view them. I was delighted to learn more from her. But this book is so skillfully presented that I am in the process of reading it a second time. This second reading is totally selfish. It is for my clients and me. This is a book for all lawyers, not just trial lawyers. Any lawyer who conducts a first interview needs the techniques revealed in this book. The skills are applicable to meeting people for the first time in a way to influence them in a positive manner. Sari describes this as a process to ‘empower and encourage’ the audience (jury) by guiding them in a way that provides safety to each and forms them into a bonded group. For more experienced lawyers, who believe we have a decent handle on what it is we do, Sari provides details and subtlety that can be learned and applied in individual trials and to individual jurors. This is where we benefit most from her more eloquent understanding that she shares with us in a form that we can efficiently use. For less experienced lawyers, well . . . I wish I’d had the opportunity decades before now.

I’ve tried over 250 jury cases, so you could argue that I don’t need to read any more ‘how-to-do-it’ books on trial advocacy. But after reading From Hostage to Hero, I realized there is still more to learn. This book is a masterpiece on how to overcome your fear in the courtroom and help jurors to do the same. I am a better trial lawyer for having read it. Bravo to Sari de la Motte for helping trial lawyers enjoy ourselves and our work more!

With this book, Sari joins the ranks of David Ball, Josh Karton, and other great nonlawyers who understand our jobs well enough to actually make a contribution to our cases and performance. Sari is a gifted teacher, and there is practical, trial-ready advice on nearly every page.