Douglas S Lavine

April 30, 2012 | National Law Journal

Failure to disentangle oneself from a client's emotional needs can lead to mistakes that may harm the client's cause.

By Douglas S. Lavine

7 minute read

June 29, 2009 | National Law Journal

A strong, accurate and interesting opening that clearly states the theme of your case is a good way to grab the attention of the audience, whether composed of laypeople or judges. With a bit of concentrated effort and imagination, the creative advocate can usually find an appealing — even universal — theme even in the most mundane of cases.

By Douglas S. Lavine

6 minute read

October 20, 2008 | National Law Journal

Like the relative you try to avoid at the family gathering, you may wish your case's big weaknesses would go away, but they won't. You just have to deal with them. All cases, like all people, have strengths and weaknesses. The successful advocate must not shy away from recognizing the shortcomings in his or her case. In fact, the successful advocate should aggressively and continuously analyze and probe the soft underbelly of his or her case. The easy part is to recognize weaknesses. The hard part is to decide what to do about them.

By Douglas S. Lavine

8 minute read

January 01, 2007 | National Law Journal

Focusing on cross-examination has obscured the importance of another critical, less sexy advocacy skill: the art of answering questions from a judge or other decision-maker.

By Douglas S. Lavine

9 minute read

June 02, 2008 | National Law Journal

The coarsening of public discourse during the past decade or two is palpable. It is critical that we keep the court process free of some of the kinds of argumentation and language that prevail in other sectors of society. While the courtroom can be a cruel place, ad hominem attacks should not be tolerated. They have a corrosive effect, diminish the dignity of the proceedings and undermine the premise of the entire legal system. As members of the legal profession, we have a responsibility to ensure that this diminution in the quality of our public discourse does not seep into our court proceedings.

By Douglas S. Lavine

8 minute read

September 17, 2012 | National Law Journal

In transforming students into logical thinkers, law schools risk draining them of spontaneity, compassion.

By Douglas S. Lavine

8 minute read

May 18, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

When a client walks in the door, he or she has a legal problem. The client wants your help in sorting it out.

By Douglas S. Lavine

7 minute read

March 24, 2008 | National Law Journal

Judges ask hypothetical questions to lawyers for a variety of reasons. As anyone who has been on the receiving end knows, hypotheticals can be nerve-racking. They test the best prepared and experienced advocates. Luckily, there are some tricks to dealing with them.

By Douglas S. Lavine

9 minute read

March 04, 2013 | Texas Lawyer

Perhaps you are familiar with the best-selling book "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff — and It's All Small Stuff" by Richard Carlson. The book's advice may be very good for everyday life, but it is very bad advice for lawyers arguing their cases in court.

By Douglas S. Lavine

7 minute read

July 23, 2013 | Daily Report Online

In his famous speech to the Associ­ation of the Bar of the City of New York on Oct. 22, 1940, John W. Davis, one of the great appellate advocates of the 20th century, stated: "More often than not there is in every case a cardinal point around which lesser points revolve like planets around the sun, or even as dead moons around a planet; a central fortress which if strongly held will make the loss of all the outworks immaterial."

By Douglas S. Lavine

5 minute read