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

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.

Classic Gerry

Some good material here, but Gerry Spence would hold my attention reading the phone book. His delivery is so damn entertaining. Had this book been read by a professional reader, I'd probably have given it only 3 stars.

I plan to listen to this over and over....

This is one of those books that you can listen to very passively but the valuable information can sink in. I really enjoyed this book and I'm a big fan of the author. I also like the fact that it's rather short but the information is very beneficial. I also want to note that I'm not an attorney. I do not agree with the notion that this is a book only for attorneys. The logic here can apply to anyone in any position.

Dry then Wet

The beginning talks a lot about who you are and getting to know your inner voice... I almost thought it was a self help book for a little bit.

Then it picked up drastically by dealing with situations a trial lawyer will encounter, such as: empathizng with the client, appearing as a truly honest person, and other entities to sway the jury. He hits on many key points that seem obvious but truly aren't.

As a future lawyer I found many key points that were not explicit in most legal books. There are no break throughs but this is definitely a solid read and gives you something more to measure a yourself and a lawyer by.

Spence Rocks.

What a fantastic book for lawyers and nonlawyers alike! This guy has forgotten more than we'll ever know about trying a case. Brilliantly written and read by the author himself. It doesn't get any better.

Invaluable Advice from Gerry Spence

I recently discovered Spence's various books in print and in audio over the past few years. I'm not a lawyer, but his advice is so valuable and applicable in numerous situations. In a world where people are ruthless and power hungry - Gerry keeps your head level and your integrity grounded. I would recommend everyone to listen and read this and his other material...because he delivers and instills some excellent psychological advice without compromising your integrity.

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.

All Lawyers Should Read

Excellently crafted and executed. I would recommend this to anyone in the justice arena looking to grow.

Perfect for the Plaintiffs Bar or Crim Def Bar

Could not even finish the book - it mostly just discussed how to make emotional pleas to juries in cases where you represent the med-mal victim or the criminally accused. Very touchy-feely and not at all about organizing thoughts or presenting cases in a logical way based in law.

disturbing

You could easily re-name the title to "How to appear legit and disguise the condescending silver-spoon-fed dandy that you really are to the simpletons that constitute your clients and the jury". The disturbing part is that in our 'surface appearance is everything' society it actually works (AKA George W Bush). People who might further their career by reading this book would be better served by abandoning their trust fund lifestyle and getting a real job. Then you might be able to TRULY empathize with the rest of humanity. There is plenty of wonderful things about America, but scratching the surface of this book exposes everything that is wrong with it.