CROSS-EXAMINATIONS
Strong cross-examination starts with a clear goal. In this episode of The Art of Outsmarting: Cross-Examination, Keith Mitnik and Jennifer Rosinski share practical strategies for assessing the witness in front of you, staying alert to unexpected answers, and keeping your case story woven into every question. They cover ways to expose evasive testimony, challenge cherry-picked evidence and opposing experts, use authoritative sources to test a witness’s conclusions, and organize your information so you can adapt your cross as the testimony unfolds.
• Define what you need from a witness before you begin questioning
• Build your cross around your case theory, not your ego
• Turn an unexpected answer into an opportunity instead of rushing to your next question
• Show jurors the significance of an admission while you’re making it
• Challenge a witness’s conclusions by examining the reasoning behind them
Keith R. Mitnik isn’t just one of Florida’s most prolific trial attorneys — he’s one of the most renowned litigators in America. As a Senior Trial Lawyer for Morgan & Morgan, he assists other members of the firm on their trials and tries a large number of cases every year. Over the years, his list of clients has included judges, elected officials, law firms, and world-famous musicians, and he has obtained a long list of verdicts in excess of a million dollars. In the last few years, he has had jury verdicts of $27 million, $40 million, and a $90 million (which was the 7th largest verdict in America for 2010). He has been honored as a member of the Florida Legal Elite, Florida’s “Super Lawyers”, Best Lawyers in America (2013 Lawyers of the Year), and Martindale’s Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers. Mr. Mitnik is a frequent seminar presenter for plaintiff’s lawyers in Florida and across the country, sharing his cutting-edge litigation strategies.
Jennifer Rosinski is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, a recognition earned by less than 2% of all Florida attorneys, and an even smaller percentage of female attorneys. She’s also been named to the Super Lawyers “Rising Star” list. Ms. Rosinski is a member of The National Trial Lawyers, which recognized her as one of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Lawyers in Florida.
Before joining Morgan and Morgan, Jennifer spent nearly 10 years working as a defense lawyer for various insurance companies nationwide. Before that, she served as in-house counsel for a large insurance company where she oversaw two offices and trained younger attorneys in trial and litigation skills. During these years, she learned the particulars of how carriers assess and value claims and injuries. She recently won a $7M jury verdict in Broward County, FL, for a minor injured by a drunk driver in a rideshare crash.
