Unshakable, not unpleasant: Effective trial advocacy during cross examination

Written on April 3, 2009 by David C. Sarnacki

The ABA Journal’s McElhaney on Litigation features the topic of persuasive cross-examination and the difference between being firm and a jerk.

Jim McElhaney writes (excerpt):
“You can be firm. You can be insistent. You can be tough when it’s called for. But you’ve got to be fair, polite and respectful—throughout the case and especially on cross.”
****
“Learning how to ask very short, fair, leading questions that call for yes or no answers. It’s counterintuitive for most lawyers, who seem to think that long questions are powerful.

“That’s wrong. Long questions are weak. They invite long answers.”

Posted in Persuasion/Advocacy