Join Michael G. Freedman (The Freedman Firm), Prof. Vince Farhat (LMU Loyola Law School), and Cassie D. Palmer (Kendall, Brill & Kelly) for a discussion of the strategic and ethical issues that arise when a defendant testifies and faces cross-examination in a criminal trial. This program will begin with a high-level overview of the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Villarreal v. Texas and its key holdings. It will then turn to practical decisions facing criminal practitioners: whether a defendant should testify, how to prepare a client effectively without crossing the line into coaching, and how to help a client withstand cross-examination by the prosecutor. Although rooted in criminal practice, the discussion will also address witness preparation, attorney-client consultation, and cross-examination principles that broadly resonate across trial pr ...