In a world of high-dollar discovery, lengthy motion practice, prohibitively expensive experts, pervasive Daubert practice, detailed pretrial exchanges, and more formal trial rules, it is more difficult than ever for young lawyers to get the courtroom experience they so desperately need to become real trial lawyers. It is this deficit of courtroom experience that created this book.
Trial: A Guide from Start to Finish — Perspectives from Opposing Counsel
is a collaboration of two trial lawyers who have tried many complex case courtrooms across the country. It takes readers through each stage of a jury trial, starting with the filing of a lawsuit long before a jury trial begins, and ending in the motion practice that concludes long after the jury’s verdict. The authors divide the trial process into its fifteen segments, and each author writes from the perspective of either the defendant or the plaintiff, giving a full-rounded look at trial practice itself. Each of the authors’ numerous victories (and occasional losses) in the courtroom have brought them valuable experience and taught them lessons about each aspect of the jury trial process. This book is their effort to share those lessons with other trial lawyers and trial lawyers-to-be.