Winning Every Time

Would the world be a better place if everyone used the principles and practices of lawyers? Most people would say no, but Wiehl offers some good advice on dealing with every-day negotiations from the lawyer's perspective. Carrington MacDuffie handles the numerous lists and outlines with professional aplomb. Wiehl's dealings with Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly are easily the most entertaining of the narrative, but the thread sometimes bogs down a bit in details. People in search of a clear-cut strategy to win every time would do well to heed Wiehl's advice. R.O. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

April 12, 2004
In this very engrossing spin on a self-help tract, Wiehl, legal analyst for Fox News and cohost of a daily radio show (The Radio Factor
), explains how to make use of lawyerly thinking in everyday life. Drawing on years of trial experience, she provides the means for prevailing in such situations as getting a raise, communicating better with your partner or becoming a more effective parent. Dividing case methodology into eight sections ("The Theory of the Case"; "Discovery"; "The Closing Argument"; etc.), Wiehl makes legal theory spring to life with well-written anecdotes from her professional courtroom and personal lives, along with comments on high profile trials, including O.J. Simpson's. The lesson from that trial, Wiehl argues, is that one must present a story of the case that is based on fact and reasoning, rather than appearing pushy and aggressive to a jury. And in an example of sticking to the "theory" of one's case, Wiehl details how a frustrated father got his son to complete his nightly homework by keeping his emotions under control and maintaining control of the discussion—a powerful theory indeed. 6-city author tour. Agent, Todd Shuster of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth.