Trialbook

About the Book

Overview

Trialbook gathers the working knowledge of three veteran trial lawyers — John Sonsteng, Roger Haydock, and Damien Riehl — and arranges it as a craft manual for advocates who need a tactic, a checklist, or a principle on the schedule of an actual trial. The text covers planning, motion practice, opening, direct and cross examination, objections, exhibits, jury selection, and closing — each chapter pairing a thesis statement with the underlying moves so the reader can apply the principle the same afternoon. The companion AI tools (Custom GPT, Gemini Gem, Claude Project) surface the same material on demand, citation-aware and grounded in the same source pages you are reading.

Chapters

1. Planning to Win Effective Advocacy — the advocacy mindset, convincing storytelling, primacy and recency.
2. Motion Practice, Opening Statements — pretrial motions, opening structure, persuasive framing.
3. Examining Witnesses: Direct Examination — question craft, witness preparation, narrative structure.
4. Objections and Exhibits — the rules of objection, introducing exhibits, sustaining the record.
5. Jury Trial: Jury Selection to Verdict — voir dire, closing, the deliberation lens.
6. Appendices and Summation — checklists, drills, and post-trial review.

About the Authors

John O. Sonsteng

John O. Sonsteng is a legal educator and reform advocate known for advancing experiential, skills-based legal training. He co-authored A Legal Education Renaissance, a widely cited work proposing a practical, client-centered model for modern legal education. His scholarship critiques traditional law school methods and emphasizes preparing students for real-world practice. He has also written on teaching methods and evaluation tools for legal education, focusing on improving how law students learn and develop professional skills. Through his writing and teaching, Sonsteng has influenced national conversations on aligning legal education with the needs of practicing lawyers.

Roger S. Haydock

Roger S. Haydock is a nationally recognized authority in trial advocacy and dispute resolution with decades of experience in teaching and practice. He has authored or co-authored dozens of books and treatises on litigation, arbitration, mediation, and negotiation. Haydock has served as a mediator in hundreds of cases and played leadership roles in arbitration organizations and dispute resolution institutes. His work spans courtroom advocacy, alternative dispute resolution, and legal education, making him a prominent figure in shaping modern litigation practice and training.

Damien Riehl

Damien Riehl is a lawyer-technologist with deep experience in litigation, cybersecurity, and AI. Admitted in 2002 and coding since 1985, he clerked for chief judges, litigated complex cases, and led global digital forensics teams. He now builds AI-driven legal systems. He co-chairs Minnesota’s Connected and Automated Vehicles Council and chairs the MSBA AI Committee, advancing access-to-justice initiatives. He helped develop SALI’s 18,000+ legal data standards and contributes to FOLIO’s legal ontology. At Clio, he integrates AI into large-scale legal datasets. He also engages AI ethics work with global Catholic leaders and created the “All the Music” public-domain project.