I perused my new purchase – “Make Your Case – Think Big, Act Bold and Win Arguments Like A Top Trial Lawyer*” – and immediately contacted the author, Greg Rollins, for an interview. Rollins is a Riverside prosecutor-turned-criminal-defense-lawyer and an engaging writer.
The book is really a general and well structured guide to success, but more than that, it’s compelling storytelling. Each chapter begins with a line like, “The sun was dropping fast when the police arrived on the scene,” and we get a story – a suck-you-in kind of story – that leads to a trial that illustrates a point.
“It’s supposed to be an easy, smooth read,” he told me by phone Tuesday. “It’s not in legalese, and it’s not technical at all. Everybody can apply the principles.”
It must’ve been an easy, smooth write, too. He started in September, 2020, as his thing to do while the courts were closed, and it was released in July. I’ve taken longer to write “write a book” on my to-do list.
He says he was motivated by his desire to pass on the knowledge he’s gained over his wins and, more potent, losses.
“Law school taught me all about the law, but not the practical skills of lawyers, like the importance of a reputation, building a foundation, the art of negotiation,” he said. Now new and seasoned lawyers can get a spoonful of drama and humor, which helps the benefit of someone’s else’s experience go down.
One of the things that made this book – which isn’t long at 158 pages – so digestible for me is that Rollins references movies and events my generation knows. He puts lessons in the context of “Big Daddy,” “Maverick,” and the O.J. Simpson case, for example. On the other hand, he is an erstwhile history teacher and he brings up wars and presidents, and I also can’t get enough of that stuff.
He talks frankly throughout the book about honesty and values.
“Attorneys have one of the highest mortality rates, a lot of substance abuse. Attorneys are in a very, very stress filled job.” Morality and clear priorities, he said, create an important foundation. “For me that foundation has been critical to help me keep a level head, have balance in my life,” he said.
On the back of the book there’s a review from a judge that Rollins does not personally know. It reads, “Even though I am retired after 42 years before the bar and on the bench, I found myself taking notes as I read ‘Make Your Case’…. This book is a must read for every law student considering a trial practice career.”
Wow, I said to Rollins.
“(That review) was huge for me,” Rollins said. Judge W. Eugene Henry (the stepdad of a person Rollins’ wife knows) reached out and said he’d love to read the manuscript. “He called me back the next day and said ‘I read it all. I loved it. Here’s my endorsement.’”
I add mine. This book is a delightful way to get a useful education, even for a non-attorney.
“In life, you’ll have many trials,” Rollins wrote in his conclusion. “Whether it’s an external or internal battle, you are always somewhere in the processes I’ve described in this book.”
*NOTE: The actual title has an Oxford comma in it, but my copy-editor fingers refused to type it. Will schedule a follow-up call with Rollins about this later.
