Reviews
“Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers places the tools of persuasion at your fingertips. John P. Blumberg has provided trial lawyers with a treasure trove of teachings. The pages will turn with ease as John dispels commonly followed myths and refocuses the reader on fact-based science. This publication possesses vital tools for persuasion that every trial attorney should study, know, and implement. It is filled with illustrations, references, and recommendations. Attorneys need to effectively communicate. This book provides the means to clarify your message, resonate with jurors, and achieve success. It should be required reading for all litigators. If you want to help your clients, read this book!”
— JONATHAN H. LOMURRO, ESQ. (Freehold, New Jersey), Author of Dropping the Digital Anchor, Certified Civil Trial Attorney (New Jersey), Board Certified in Medical Malpractice Law (American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys), Member, American Board of Trial Advocates, Master of Law in Trial Advocacy
“Without doubt, the book Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers should be a must read for all trial attorneys, whether they be novices or very experienced. Author John P. Blumberg, himself an experienced jury trial lawyer, breaks down the things that most influence trial jurors in reaching their verdict and does so in a very understandable way. The insights he presents as to how jurors have many preconceived mindsets and how to understand and deal with handling them in the presentation of your case is a most helpful tool for all of us to understand and put into practice. The book is presented in a most entertaining way. It is a pleasure to read and the lessons and insights it contains are invaluable and can be simply followed by all.”
— ROBERT N. STONE, ESQ. (Los Angeles, California) Past National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Board Certified in Medical Malpractice Law (American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys)
“I have been practicing as a trial attorney for over 45 years, and I have read multiple books and articles dealing with juries and their selection, but I can unequivocally state the best analysis and explanation of the juror response and how to understand it is contained in the pages of Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers! I’ve tried over 200 jury trials, but I have to say that every page of John P. Blumberg’s book offered insights that never occurred to me in all those years. This book is invaluable, needs to be in your office, and available every time you go into a courtroom to select a jury.”
— GARY M. PAUL, ESQ., Waters, Kraus & Paul (Los Angeles, California), Past President: Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, Consumer Attorneys of California, and American Association for Justice, Member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and American Board of Trial Advocates (Diplomate rank)
“Attorney John P. Blumberg has put together an insightful new book analyzing the art of persuasion for litigators. This is a book that I wish I had read before my first trial. I learned some of his observations the hard way during my 30 years of trial work, but didn’t realize the reasons why some approaches worked and some didn’t. The book is very readable with interesting examples sprinkled with humor. It should be required reading in every trial practice course in law school and for every beginning litigator. It’s an invaluable gem of wisdom.”
— HON. WENDELL MORTIMER, Retired Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Member, National Board of Governors of the American Board of Trial Advocates
“Among the sea of terrific books that teach trial lawyers techniques to be better trial lawyers, John P. Blumberg’s Persuasion Science is the first that succeeds at teaching lawyers how jurors think . . . and why certain techniques are persuasive. As a jury consultant, I can attest that understanding how jurors judge information and make decisions is a rare but precious quality for trial lawyers. John does an amazing job of condensing and translating years of training and education in psychology into lessons that apply directly to civil trials. Unless you have years to spend getting your own PhD in psychology, John’s book will make you a better lawyer by helping you to understand why some trial techniques work, others don’t, and when to deploy the right ones from your toolbelt for the unique facts of the case you’re taking to trial next.”
—HARRY J. PLOTKIN, jury consultant (Los Angeles, California)
“I cannot remember the last time, if ever, I actually found myself not only informed but truly entertained by a book on effective trial practice. John P. Blumberg has applied his successful career as a trial lawyer to his extensive review of the psychology of persuasion and created a wonderful new book that captures the essence of successful communication and persuasion with opposing counsel, jurors, and the Court. I was particularly struck by the chapter ‘Admonitions, Verbosity, and Other Mumbo Jumbo.’ It called to mind two examples I have held dear over a 27-year career as a litigator, as well as my time on the bench. First, my civil procedure professor promised to fail any student who drafted an exemplar complaint starting with the words ‘Comes now the plaintiff . . . .’ Second was when counsel asked an expert witness what the technical term was for the portion of a light bulb which ‘had a metal threaded cap, a ceramic insulator and an electrical contact in the middle’ and was advised by the expert that it was called ‘the part you screw in.’ Lawyers get too caught up in ‘mumbo jumbo’ and Blumberg shows them not only the way out, but the why. An interesting, enjoyable, and thoroughly researched read for practitioners at every level.”
—HON. JOE W. HILBERMAN, Retired Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court; Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (Advocate rank)
“Replete with actionable advice based on scientific research in decision making, Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers is a trial lawyer’s companion at any stage of his or her career. Its insightful analogies and clear prose earn it a spot on the shelf next to Reptile, and books by Malcolm Gladwell and Jonah Lehrer, as well as other classics of the legal tactics genre.”
— WILLIAM F. McMURRY, ESQ. (Louisville, Kentucky) Past President, American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, Board Certified Medical Malpractice Specialist, Board Certified Legal Malpractice Specialist (American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys), Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist (National Board of Trial Advocates), Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the Florida Bar, Board of Legal Specialization
“John P. Blumberg’s new book, Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers, takes a fascinating new approach to examining why certain advocacy techniques do and don’t work to persuade trial juries. In particular, I found his discussion of how juries understand and process information to be eye opening and even counter to what many of us have been taught for decades. This book is a must read for trial lawyers and those who teach future trial lawyers the art of advocacy.”
— SUSAN G. POEHLS, ESQ., Director of Trial Advocacy Programs and William C. Hobbs Professor of Trial Advocacy, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California
“John P. Blumberg’s examination of the ‘Conservative Brain’ is thought provoking and relevant for the trial lawyer in today’s politically polarized country. He explains that conservatives can be persuaded to find for plaintiffs because they favor social order–based morality in which the emphasis is to protect the public from danger by avoidance of harm by compliance with the rules. He then demonstrates how best to present conservative concepts to juries by portraying a plaintiff as a person possessing the conservative values of personal industry and group identification who was injured by a defendant who broke society’s rules. All trial lawyers would benefit from John Blumberg’s well written and reasoned approach to understanding the differences in how we all think and reach conclusions based on our different value systems.”
—LUTHER J. BATISTE, III, ESQ. (Columbia, South Carolina) Past National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates
“Science is typically black and white. John P. Blumberg has taken the art of persuasion science to the important reasoning of ‘why’ we care about what is important enough to listen, attach, and stay interested in the presentations. He has creatively built each chapter to engage the reader to continue to discover the ‘why’ behind the strategy of building the trial presentation while always connecting the persuasion with phrasing, visuals, and timing. He illustrates that science has proven the 10-second/10-minute rule of interest and attention. John Blumberg’s style of writing is storytelling. His message to lawyers is to simplify your case with direct, clear, and easily understood testimony and evidence. If you uncomplicate the complicated, the jury will follow and stay interested. I highly recommend Persuasion Science for Trial Lawyers to anyone who wants to build impressionable case and engage the jury’s interest and connections.”
— MOLLY M. MURPHY, Trial Consultant (Los Angeles, California)
“This book is not for trial lawyers who believe they have to beat verdicts out of juries. In an insightful application of scientific concepts of human decision making, John P. Blumberg reveals that the skillful advocate does not bludgeon, but rather guides jurors to persuade themselves of the key issues on which a case turns. Such an empowered jury truly fulfills its duty ‘to find the truth.’”
—RICHARD HONAKER, ESQ. (Wyoming) Past President: Wyoming State Bar, Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, Wyoming chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
“To be effective, every trial lawyer needs to understand and appreciate the jury. Mr. Blumberg’s book is an essential read for every trial lawyer, from novice to most experienced, as it provides the clearest window yet provided, backed by current social science, into how jurors best receive, process, and ultimately determine and judge the facts.”
— GARY ZIPKIN, ESQ. (Anchorage, Alaska); Past President of the Alaska Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates; Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
