Once upon a time, the word “hack” was a term of derision. No more. Now, it is gaining an elevated place as a word meaning a shortcut to fixing a challenge, a way to get a quick flash solution. So, let’s dip these following problems into the fryer and see the “hacks” emerging, hopefully, crisp and tasty.
Issue No. 1: “I’m dying on this cross examination. The witness keeps slipping through my impeachment attempts. The jury is watching carefully. What do I do?” Try enough lawsuits and you and your outside counsel will find yourself there. The jury’s playing ping-pong, eyeballing the lawyer, and then turning to the witness and back again. You can express frustration by wallowing in your argument, objecting to the judge that the answers are non-responsive (the last refuge of a drowning lawyer—I have been there), or generally repeating yourself again and again hoping that the fifth assault on the witness is more successful than the first. These are all useless. Here is the hack: “Mr. Witness, can you accept the fact that XYZ is the case (or could be the case)?” When asking, stress the “can you accept.” If the witness says “yes,” you win; if the witness says “no,” then he is the one that seems unreasonable.
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