DENVER (December 29, 2005) - Holland & Hart attorneys are highlighted in The Persuasive Edge by Richard J. Crawford, Ph.D., and Charlotte A. Morris, M.A., a new book that offers practical and concrete techniques to improve persuasive communication skills.
Jane Michaels, a litigation partner at Holland & Hart, is spotlighted in the book. The authors used direct quotes from her opening statements, jury selection (voir dire) and closing arguments in actual trials as examples of persuasive advocacy.
Three former members of the firm are also featured: Marilyn Kite, who became the first woman on the Wyoming Supreme Court; Brooke Jackson, now a district judge in Jefferson County; and Dan Patterson, now a partner in the firm of Roberts, Levine and Patterson.
Remarking on why Holland & Hart appears so prominently in the book, Dr. Crawford explained, "Holland & Hart is among the most dedicated to excellence in advocacy of any firm in the country, and they have the premier mock trial courtroom anywhere."
Dr. Crawford is also an alumnus of the firm. While at Holland & Hart, he became the first person nationally to serve full time as a trial consultant inside a law firm. He began what is now Persuasion Strategies, an integrated team of nationally recognized litigation consultants, graphic and video professionals, and trial attorneys.
The Persuasive Edge is the revised edition of The Persuasion Edge, which was first published in 1989. It covers subjects such as developing a practical approach to persuasion, reaching out for and holding juror attention, persuasion in voir dire, expanding trial strategy and staging techniques, communicating more effectively with judges, and the use of trial consultants.
Dr. Crawford holds three degrees in communication and has served with distinction as a professor at the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Colorado, including teaching advocacy at the CU law school. As a professor teaching in the area of forensic communication and persuasion, he focused his research and publication efforts on the American jury trial and courtroom communication. Dr. Crawford has conducted seminars and lectured to trial lawyers in 30 states and two foreign countries. He was a founder and past national president of the American Society of Trial Consultants and has served as a trial consultant in more than 400 jury trials.