Cross-Examining the Difficult Witness: Tips for Women Defenders Navigating Gender Dynamics

In the Courtroom

Cross-examination is often the most well-honed, trusted, and useful tool for criminal defense lawyers. This fact has unique significance for women practitioners. Although women have made considerable strides in the legal profession and almost half of the graduates of law school are now women, there are nonetheless gender dynamics at play. Therefore, it is important for women to understand those dynamics and use them to their advantage.