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Sun Tzu and the Art of Trial
Sun Tzu and the Art of Trial
Vol. 39 No. 1
William N. Shepherd, former statewide prosecutor for the state of Florida, is a partner with Holland & Knight LLP. Thomas D. Smith, former chief assistant statewide prosecutor in Tampa, is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Infantry.
The first trial manual was written thousands of years ago by a military strategist responsible for training his king’s troops during the Warring States period in sixth century B.C. China. Although Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War as a manual for training warriors, its lessons and principles apply equally to preparing for the conflict of trial in the adversary system. The good deed at trial is receiving the asked-for verdict. The good deed for Sun Tzu was preparing for war so that victory was assured or, better yet, war was averted.
