Lawyers' Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players

Steven Lubet

May 2006 · Oxford University Press

About this ebook

Great poker players are master tacticians. Not only do they calculate odds with lightning speed and astonishing precision, but they also cunningly anticipate and manipulate the actions of their adversaries. In short, they boast skills that every lawyer can envy. This highly entertaining work might best be summed up as "better lawyering through poker." Steven Lubet shows exactly how the tactics of the poker table can be adapted to litigation, negotiation, and virtually every aspect of law practice. In a series of engaging and informative lessons, Lubet describes concepts like "betting for value," "slow playing," and "reverse bluffing," and explains how they can be used by lawyers to win their cases. The best card players, like the best lawyers, have a knack for getting their adversaries to react exactly as they want, and that talent separates the winners from the losers. Lawyers' Poker is an irresistible guide to successful lawyering and an enjoyable read for anyone with an interest in law. No poker knowledge required.

About the author

Steven Lubet is Professor of Law at Northwestern University and a nationally recognized expert on trials and trial strategy. He writes an award-winning column for American Lawyer Magazine. His humorous commentaries have been heard on National Public Radio's Morning Edition and his op-eds have run in Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and many other newspapers.