The book offers a critical psychosocial examination of the legal profession, highlighting a mental health crisis affecting both lawyers and judges. It connects this crisis to the dysfunctions within the legal system that these professionals perpetuate. By exploring the interplay between mental health and legal practice, the work sheds light on the challenges faced by those within the justice system and critiques the structures that contribute to their distress.
Focusing on litigation strategies, this book features insights from 78 top attorneys in California and New York. They share their expertise in evaluating cases, negotiating settlements, and resolving disputes, highlighting critical factors in case assessment. By blending legal knowledge with psychological principles, the authors reveal how effective lawyers frame their cases, grasp juror perspectives, and craft compelling arguments, ultimately leading to successful outcomes for their clients.
This book presents a multi-disciplinary, practice-based introduction to the major soft skills for lawyers: self-awareness, self-development, social proficiency, wisdom, leadership, and professionalism.
In this book, 78 leading attorneys in California and New York describe how they evaluate, negotiate and resolve litigation cases. Selected for their demonstrated skill in predicting trial outcomes and knowing when cases should be settled or taken to trial, these attorneys identify the key factors in case evaluation and share successful strategies in pre-trial discovery, negotiation, mediation, and trials. Integrating law and psychology, the book shows how skilled attorneys mentally frame cases, understand jurors’ perspectives, develop persuasive themes and arguments and achieve exceptional results for clients.
The Power of Effective Decision Making for Attorneys and Clients
Let us endeavor to see things as they are and then inquire whether we ought to complain. The consolation drawn from truth, if any exists, is solid and durable; that from error is fallacious and fleeting. In litigation, attorneys and clients face numerous decisions, from choosing an attorney to calling witnesses at trial, filing complaints, or appealing verdicts. Each decision involves critical considerations about strategies, costs, arguments, valuations, evidence, and negotiations. Once made, these decisions are scrutinized by opponents eager to exploit any mistakes. In this adversarial environment, decision-making errors can be transparent, irreversible, and potentially devastating, risking bankruptcy for clients and the dissolution of law firms. While attorneys and clients may view sound decision-making as secondary to effective lawyering, it is, in fact, the essence of the practice. An attorney's knowledge, intelligence, and experience remain inert until effectively deployed in service of the client’s interests. Ultimately, the decisions made by attorneys and clients significantly shape the trajectory and outcome of a case.