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Episode 10
C. Evan Stewart
Wall Street trial lawyer, historian, and prolific author
Most lawyers who try Wall Street securities fraud cases come up through a U.S. Attorney's office first. C. Evan Stewart didn't. He spent nearly fifty years trying those cases in private practice instead. That is rare.
He is also a historian and a prolific author, which is rarer still.
In this week's episode, Evan talks about what he has learned throughout his career:
– the “blinding insight” from noticing the trembling, nervous hands of Irving Younger, the best public speaker he has ever seen,
– juries’ (often unconscious) need for cognitive consistency,
– and the most important thing a witness can do: be the same person on cross that the jury saw on direct.
Evan’s new book, William Henry Seward’s Quest to Save the Nation During the Secession Winter, argues the Civil War was not inevitable. He points to Lincoln’s decision to resupply Fort Sumter, against Seward’s advice, as the choice that set the war in motion.
“It’s very hard to be objective when you’re in the eye of a hurricane. The people in the eye of the hurricane thought they were smart enough to get out of trouble by themselves. History tells me that doesn’t work.”
C. Evan Stewart, Episode 10
Thanks for reading.
Alexander Powell, Host of Cited Authorities
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