Win Your Case

How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail, Every Place, Every Time

By: Gerry Spence

Narrated by: Gerry Spence

Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

From renowned trial attorney and New York Times best-selling author Gerry Spence: a must own book for every lawyer and business professional seeking to make cutting-edge winning presentations - in court, at work, everywhere, any time.

Gerry Spence is perhaps America's most renowned and successful trial lawyer, a man known for his deep convictions and his powerful courtroom presentations when he argues on behalf of ordinary people. Frequently pitted against teams of lawyers thrown against him by major corporate or government interests, he has never lost a criminal case and has not lost a civil jury trial since 1969.

In Win Your Case, Spence shares a lifetime of experience teaching you how to win in any arena - the courtroom, the boardroom, the sales call, the salary review, the town council meeting - every venue where a case is to be made against adversaries who oppose the justice you seek. Relying on the successful courtroom methods he has developed over more than half a century, Spence shows both lawyers and laypersons how you can win your cases as he takes you step by step through the elements of a trial - from jury selection, the opening statement, the presentation of witnesses, their cross-examinations, and finally to the closing argument itself.

Spence teaches you how to prepare yourselves for these wars. Then he leads you through the new, cutting-edge methods he uses in discovering the story in which you form the evidence into a compelling narrative, discover the point of view of the decision maker, anticipate and answer the counterarguments, and finally conclude the case with a winning final argument. To make a winning presentation, you are taught to prepare the power-person (the jury, the judge, the boss, the customer, the board) to hear your case.

You are shown that your emotions, and theirs, are the source of your winning. You learn the power of your own fear, of honesty and caring and, yes, of love. You are instructed on how to role-play through the use of the psychodramatic technique, to both discover and tell the story of the case, and, at last, to pull it all together into the winning final argument.

Whether you are presenting your case to a judge, a jury, a boss, a committee, or a customer, Win Your Case is an indispensable guide to success in every walk of life, in and out of the courtroom.

©2005 Gerry Spence (P)2005 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Personal Development/Motivational

my first review

I enjoyed the content this book had to deliver to me as listener. I liked the painted picture stories that were portrayed and the various options the legal team can proceed from. I have an open case and is my first case in my life and will be last case and I am pleased to be getting familiar with Court room drama and a court room theme.

I am not a lawyer, but

I am not a lawyer, but I have followed Gerry Spence's career since I fist saw him on daytime talk TV. I've always enjoyed his persuasive and in-depth patterns of speech. He draws you into each story and makes you feel each emotion. You're no longer just along for the ride you are actively involved. I highly recommend this book as a golden opportunity to improve your communication skills and become better connected with empathy.

Great book

I could listen to Gerry talk all day long. Fantastic book and a great message.

Useful Thoughts from a Master Trial Lawyer

I'm not sure that this book would be particularly meaningful to non-lawyers. It does, however, contain some interesting insights into trial practice, particularly his discussion about cross examination techniques. Those thoughts could have been expressed in half of its 4 plus hour length. If a voice alone can be called charismatic, Spence's voice qualifies.

Read it again...you missed something.

I am studying to be a lssp licensed specialist in school psychology. A vital aspect to being an awesome lssp is having great communication with all shareholders. Let me make it clear that I suck at communication. I have an extremely difficult time conveying myself...whether it's public speaking or talking to a person one on one. After listening to this audiobook I see that in order to be a skillful communicator I must possess captivating storytelling skills. The book told me WHAT I need to do. However, HOW I develop the skill is up to me. For me, how to get this skill will mean going up and talking to a lot of different people. This book will be a great review and reference point as I embark on my social intellectual journey.

Win Your Case

I have been a prosecutor for the last 7 years in the SF Bay Area, and Gerry Spence in "How to Win Your Case" has given me even more confidence in trying my cases through his methods of persuasion. At the start, it comes out elementary, but as it progresses the book literally gives you power to make an argument for what you believe in. And everything he talks about can be applied to any situation you may find yourself having to argue an idea or a case to another person or group of persons. He keeps it simple and commonsensical. I play it in my car while going to my next day of trial. Each time you listen, you come up with new ideas on how you tailor your arguments through your own life experiences.

Love it

If you could sum up Win Your Case in three words, what would they be?

I wish I can buy all the books from Gerry Spence. I've read him since high-school. Everything I know in life is from reading his books.

Excellent!

Enjoyed it. Nice persective shift. Interesting to read about influence and persuasion in regards to law.

emotionally honest

I recommend this title because it delivers emotional honesty about the experience of representing clients before an innately skeptical courtroom.

Pep talk for trial attorneys

Would you listen to Win Your Case again? Why?

Spence delivers his general ideas about the practice and offers insight into how he does what he does. While at times he reduces his opponents --insurance companies, the police, judges-- to straw dogs, he delivers the work with the same verve and creativity he brings to his cases. This book is not just about trials; Spence is advocating as if it were a trial. It makes for a fascinating and exciting listen.