Negotiation skills feature throughout 12 Angry Men, and if you want some insight into keen lawyerly timing, look no further than the 1957 movie, Witness for the Prosecution. That film, based on a short story by Agatha Christie, follows the trial of a man accused of murder and his attorney’s efforts to uncover the truth.
It is true that onscreen lawyers often are portrayed as over the top and find themselves in implausible situations. But some films offer useful insights into the skills lawyers need to be successful, according to a new book by Kelly Lynn Anders, director of communications and diversity at Creighton University School of Law. Advocacy to Zealousness: Learning Lawyering Skills From Classic Films used 26 movies to illustrate different lawyering skills.
