Product Description

The classic guide to advocacy for trial lawyers, Common Sense Rules of Advocacy for Lawyers has been hailed by lawyers, mediators and professors across the country. It is the practical guide to advocacy with tips and rules that will make anyone -- attorneys, lobbyists, negotiators, account executives, law students, new attorneys, and anyone who must persuade others -- a better advocate in less than 10 minutes a day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #763365 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 264 pages

Review
"CSRA is my desert-island book. When another lawyer washes ashore, as in a New Yorker cartoon, I'll be ready." -- Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Litigation Law Section Newsletter, Fall 2004

"I recommend that trial lawyers have this book on their shelves for use as a refresher." -- Wisconsin Lawyer, September 2004

From the Publisher
This book was originally published in 1994 as a paperback by West Publishing as "The Common Sense Rules of Trial Advocacy." The book was revised and edited, and the Foreword and Appendix 3, "How to Succeed as a Lawyer," by Roland Boyd, are new to the 2004 edition, which is hardbound.

From the Author
I wrote this book in the first place as a kind of guidebook for young lawyers who had to do a trial in court. And I have been pleased over the years to hear from people who claimed they had won a verdict because they used one of the techniques I suggested. I have been told as well that these practical rules are as useful outside the courtroom as they are in it. And I do agree that if you have to make a presentation or negotiate a deal, these rules will undoubtedly help you.

But I don't want to re-write the book so as to point out that this or that rule is of particular importance in any kind of negotiation or alternative dispute resolution, or that an account executive making a pitch should pay special attention to this one or that one. You are intelligent enough to see how a rule lifts out of the courtroom and can be used in negotiations and presentations, and, indeed, in every kind of relationship.

And it is in the framework of a trial in court that the rules can be most easily explained. So although I have been persuaded to adopt a new title, what you are getting here is more or less the original advice for the brave young lawyers who dare to do a case in court. You'll find it quite funny in places, and you'll easily decide which rules you want to take with you into your daily life and into your work.

I think the central rule of this whole book is Newton's Rule, as I have called it. "You can't possibly convict my client on this evidence," says the lawyer, and although the jury don't move a muscle you can see them all thinking, "Oh no? You wanna bet?" Every action has its equal and opposite reaction, and this rule is working all the time when people are communicating or trying to communicate.

Customer Reviews

The Golden Rules of Advocacy
When this book was originally written, it bore the title "The Golden Rules of Advocacy," and the previous edition is still available under that name from Amazon.com. I discovered "Golden Rules" on a trip to England, where I found it on sale at the information desk of the Royal Courts of Justice in London. As a recently retired trial advocate of 32 years experience, I was interested in the English perspective on trial advocacy. I bought the book and read it straight through on the flight home from England and was greatly impressed by Evans' knowledge of the essentials of trial advocacy. When I discovered "Golden Rules" on Amazon.com, I wrote a glowing review.

Then I found "Common Sense Rules," and debated ordering it. I rightly suspected it was "Golden Rules" under another name. After some time, I gave in to the urge to purchase, and I have not regretted it. "Common Sense" is "Golden Rules" revised and expanded, and set forth in a much more user-friendly format.

I lament the change of title, however. The term "Golden Rules" conveys the high ethical standard set by the book far better than "Common Sense". You can have a head full of "Common Sense" and still be as crooked as a corkscrew. Despite my preference for the former title, I cannot fault the publisher for the change. Either term is equally applicable. Maybe the third edition could be entitled "The Golden Rules of Common Sense Advocacy".

Reading this book would profit any advocate of any experience level. Judicious application of the advice contained in the book will make anyone a better advocate.

waste of time
Overhyped, poorly written. He should have spent more time on the book and less time trying to plug it by referencing it in reviews of other legal books.

Valuable rules to use in advocacy and in life.
The rules in this book are easy to read and understand, but are more challenging to actually implement. To change habits requires practice, and this volume, with its style and format, encourages that necessary practice, by making it convenient to return to for review, study, and gentle reminders.