Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury: Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law

by Michael S. Lief, Benjamin Bycel, H. Mitchell Caldwell, et al.

Book Overview

The closing arguments from ten noteworthy cases--"lawyers and nonlawyers will enjoy the passion and eloquence of these counselors; practitioners of law will find much to learn from them" (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

Until now, only the twelve jurors who sat in judgment were able to appreciate these virtuoso performances, where weeks of testimony were boiled down and presented with flair, wit, and high drama. For five years...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684859483
• ISBN13: 9780684859484
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

If your idealism is waning, this book will help you find it!

After years of arguing caseslaw, motions, picking juries, interviewing witnesses, going through all the day to day protocol that trial work demands, one may forget at times how important is the job of a lawyer. But this book reminds the practioner that he/she is a part of a wonderful system of justice. Not many cases will go down as "The Greatest" but to your clients, it is often the defining moment of their lives. And this book helps you reconnect to the reasons why you sought a lifetime devoted to the noblest of professions. Reading about the great lawyers of in our history is humbling and worthwhile. Reflection is helpful as you try to regain a little lost idealism. And if you are a new lawyer and have all of you ideals from law school still in tact, reading this book will help you realize how important it is to never lose them. Great book for lawyers and non-lawyers alike.

A worthwhile read for a trial attorney

If only for Spence's closing in the Silkwood case, this book is worth every penny. A real thing of subtle and effective beauty, that closing contains so many incredible and useful techniques, it's just plain stunning. The subtle allignment of Spence to the jurors in groups in which Spence and the jurors can work together are wonderful and powerful -- Spence places himself and the jurors by turns in a self built retirement community, and in the class of local state citizens all the while emphasizing that the cause of the need for retirement and the genesis of Spence's new found home state membership is the defense's prolongation of trial -- wonderful. The rhyming "if the lion gets away, Kerr McGee must pay" is hard-to-forget and masterfully so. The analysis that proceeds each transcript is useful and informative. Buy it if you can.

Spellbinding

Ladies and Gentlemen... kills two birds with one stone by providing an eduactional and intruiging experience. You will hit your curiousity spot by learning what the landmark trials of the United States were all about, and you will also get locked into some of the most persuasive literature I have ever seen.While those who are interested in the legal field are virtually guaranteed to be interested in reading Ladies and Gentlemen..., you don't need to be anything close to a lawyer to appreciate this. This anthology of closing arguments teaches the reader how to connect/communicate with others. After reading a series of closing arguments, I learned different strategies to use to relate to a group of people to get my point across (in this case, a jury). This book is great to any businessman, negotiator, or even those who want to improve their basic social, everyday, oral skills.I just bought this book for ten of my friends for the past holiday season, and I got star reports from all of them. I recommend this innovative book to all types of readers.--Emanuel Abrishami

A must read for anyone who is or wants to be a litigator!

The authors have done a fantastic job of resurrecting some of the finest closing arguments of all time. From Gerry Spence's closing in Silkwood (perhaps the greatest closing argument ever) to the flair and panache of William Kuntsler, this book provides excitement and intrigue at the turn of every page. Completely engrossing. . . . I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in trial practice, or plain old human drama.

Book brings to life some of the great cases of the century

I found this book a must for anyone interested in famous trials. I'm an historian and not a lawyer and found it to be just what I needed to increase my knowledge of specific trials at crucial points in history.For example, the chapter on the Nazi war crimes trials allowed me to fully understand the complexities of an international war tribunal.Darrow's closing argument in the Leopold and Loeb case was one of the most erudite pieces of logic this writer has ever come across.I've given this book to many of my lawyer friends as presents. They enjoyed it as much as I did.