Litigation & Appeals

PA Specific

4.48

Advanced Trial Tactics in Pennsylvania

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
OnDemand
6 hours
Rachel Horton
Robert Tintner
Jeffrey Scott
Jerry Knafo
Elizabeth Underwood
With Rachel A. Horton from DLA Piper + 4 others
Recorded March 20, 2026.
Product ID 101492

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Overview

Sophisticated Courtroom Strategies for Experienced and Aspiring Trial Attorneys

Have you perfected your process of trial preparation into an art of war? Are you getting all you can out of the opportunities witnesses and opposing counsel let slip during trial? Do your juries leave the courtroom wanting to reach the verdict that you've clearly stated you want? Join seasoned trial lawyers for an engaging day of learning and tactics exchange and take your courtroom presentation skills to the next level of excellence. Register today!

  • Explore the most effective approaches to case theme development and information organization to help in your trial preparation efforts.
  • Masterfully use openers and direct examination to inoculate jurors against the opponent's major arguments.
  • Choose the right form of exhibit for each key piece of evidence and enhance the visual experience to facilitate comprehension, evoke emotion, and help memory.
  • Use powerful summation strategies to distill the maelstrom of information into juror understanding and acquiescence.
  • Make the best use of video-recorded testimony to refresh witness recollection, demonstrate inconsistencies, and impeach experts.
  • Learn from others' mistakes and successes, and get practical strategies for handling surprises in the courtroom.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. Voir Dire and Jury Selection Strategies
  2. Effective Exhibits and Courtroom Technology
  3. Handling Surprises at Trial
  4. Opening Statements and Direct Examination
  5. Summations and Jury Instructions
  6. Cross-Examination and Redirect - Focus on Experts and Evidence
  7. Trial Ethics
Product ID 101492

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE

Agenda

All times are shown in
  1. Voir Dire and Jury Selection Strategies

    1. Preparing for Jury Selection - Researching Your "Target Audience"
      (Venue, Juror Pool Demographics, Creating Your "Ideal Juror," Drafting Surveys/Questionnaires, etc.)
    2. Preparing the Pre-Trial Order
    3. Introducing Your Case During Jury Selection
    4. Bringing to the Surface and Overcoming Juror and Judicial Biases
    5. Reading the Vital Non-Verbal Signals Jurors are Sending
    6. Peremptory and For-Cause Challenge Tactics
  2. Effective Exhibits and Courtroom Technology

    1. Overcoming Fear and Confronting Technology
    2. Preparing for the Digital Trial
      1. Digital Case Storage and Organization
      2. Authentication of Documents
      3. Document/Exhibit Organization
      4. Preparing the Courtroom and Conditioning the Jury
      5. Blending Technology Use Into Your Presentation for Seamless Delivery
    3. Choosing the Right Method and Form of Exhibit
      (Physical vs. Image; Actual vs. Demonstrative; Budget; Setting; Venue; Subject Matter; Order of Proof; Presenter's Style and Preferences; Comfort Level With Technology)
    4. Does Each of Your Exhibits Pass the 8-Point Test?
    5. What Can the Opposing Counsel do With the Evidence I Introduce?
    6. Video Depositions (Prior Testimony)
      1. Advantages and Pitfalls
      2. When to Use
      3. Rules of Completeness
      4. Objections
      5. Fairness
  3. Handling Surprises at Trial

  4. Opening Statements and Direct Examination

    1. Maximizing the Impact of Opening Statements
      (Introducing Case Theme and Key Case Parties; Laying out the Sequence of Events; Introducing Supporting and Damaging Evidence; Preparing Judge and Jury to Focus on Specific Elements of Trial Presentation; Opening Techniques That Simply Don't Work; Cutting Out Unnecessary Clutter)
    2. Preparation Tips for Direct Examination
      (Establishing the Main Theme; Organizing the Order of Testimony; Preparing Witnesses; Formulating Effective Questions)
    3. Areas of Direct Examination
      (Specific Approaches to Impeachment, Fact Testimony, Expert Testimony, Causation, Liability, Damages, Foundation, etc.)
    4. Persuasive Witness Testimony - How to:
      1. Develop the Story and Make it Interesting
      2. Integrate a Theme
      3. Adjust to the Specific Audience
      4. Limit the Scope
      5. Handle and Introduce Exhibits
      6. Authenticate Documents
      7. Humanize Your Witness
      8. Anticipate and Neutralize Cross-Examination
    5. Is Interim Commentary Allowed? How to Use it Well
  5. Summations and Jury Instructions

    1. What to Include
    2. Length and Style Tactics
    3. Use of Pace and Voice Inflection to Emphasize Key Elements
    4. Addressing the Weak Points of the Case
    5. The Verdict Sheet/Jury Instructions - Clearly Asking for What You Want
  6. Cross-Examination and Redirect - Focus on Experts and Evidence

    1. Advanced Uses of Basic Cross-Exam Tools: Bias, Opportunity to Observe, Inconsistency, etc.
    2. Tips for Cross-Examining Difficult Lay Witnesses
    3. Opposing Experts in the Courtroom - Setting Up the Motion to Strike
      1. Timing/Sequence
      2. Phrasing
      3. Detailed Facts
      4. Psychological Components
      5. Advanced Techniques for Getting an Expert Disqualified
    4. Making and Responding to Objections
    5. Relevancy Issues
    6. Addressing Hearsay
    7. Redirect Examination - Taking Advantage of the Often-Overlooked Resource
  7. Trial Ethics

    1. Courtroom Civility
    2. Candor Toward the Tribunal
    3. Ethical Issues in the Preparation and Use of Witnesses
    4. Investigating and Communicating with Jurors
    5. Trial Publicity

Who Should Attend

This advanced level online seminar is designed for trial attorneys and litigation support professionals.

Speakers

Rachel A Horton
Rachel A.
Horton
DLA Piper
Robert S Tintner
Robert S.
Tintner
Fox Rothschild LLP
Jeffrey M Scott
Jeffrey M.
Scott
Archer & Greiner P.C.
Jerry R Knafo
Jerry R.
Knafo
Knafo Law Offices
Elizabeth A Underwood
Elizabeth A.
Underwood
Marshall Dennehey, P.C.
Speaker bio
Rachel A Horton

Rachel A. Horton

DLA Piper
Rachel Horton

is an attorney with DLA Piper and focuses her practice on appellate litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States and defending pharmaceutical and medical device companies. She is a high-energy litigator who regularly handles complex matters, including multidistrict litigation. Ms. Horton has presented oral arguments in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, state and federal trial courts and arbitration panels. At the trial level, she has significant experience drafting dispositive motions and working with trial counsel to preserve clients' appellate rights. Ms. Horton collaborates with her colleagues who specialize in numerous practice areas, including civil and criminal investigations, intellectual property and products liability. She graduated first in her law school class. During law school, Ms. Horton interned with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where she assisted in the government's litigation of Federal Tort Claims Act and False Claims Act cases. She also served as an intern for the Honorable Louis H. Pollak, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Horton clerked for the Honorable Legrome D. Davis, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Honorable Richard C. Wesley, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Speaker bio
Robert S Tintner

Robert S. Tintner

Fox Rothschild LLP
Robert Tintner

is a commercial litigator at Fox Rothschild LLP in Philadelphia. He is admitted in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mr. Tintner handles various matters for lawyers and law firms, including responsibility matters, legal malpractice actions, defamation and First Amendment cases and claims of wrongful use of civil proceedings and abuse of process. He represents lawyers before the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board and the Pennsylvania Board of Bar Examiners, and he is currently the co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Guidance Committee. Mr. Tintner earned his B.A. degree at University of Pennsylvania and then went on to receive his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Mr. Tintner regularly presents seminars throughout Pennsylvania on professional responsibility, avoidance of legal malpractice, Dragonetti Act, quiet title and title insurance. He is a co-author of the book "Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings and Related Torts in Pennsylvania," published by The Legal Intelligencer.

Speaker bio
Jeffrey M Scott

Jeffrey M. Scott

Archer & Greiner P.C.
Jeffrey Scott

is a partner in the litigation department of the law firm of Archer & Greiner P.C. He is a first-chair trial attorney whose practice involves an array of civil matters. Mr. Scott has served as first-chair trial counsel in over 100 jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations. He excels in presenting evidence, no matter how complex, in a manner that easily understood by all. Since 1991, he has successfully defended local school districts, municipal and state employees in case brought under the Civil Rights Act in areas of police administration, corrections, education law, and social services. While representing the City of Philadelphia and SEPTA, Mr. Scott developed over 30 years of experience defending claims brought under the Pennsylvania Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act and the Pennsylvania Sovereign Immunity Act. He also represents individuals and companies in matters regarding complex commercial claims, corporate and regulatory compliance, labor disputes, employment contracts, non-compete agreements, professional malpractice, and white-collar defense. Mr. Scott teams up with Archer's Intellectual Property Group as trial counsel in matters involving claims brought under the Lanham Act. In business disputes, he uses his trial experience and network of consultants to develop business valuations and lost profit claims and defenses. Mr. Scott earned his B.A. degree from Temple University and his J.D. degree from the University of Dayton School of Law. He is a member of The Brith Sholom Foundation and a Board Member, The Bucks County Foodshed Alliance. Mr. Scott is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Supreme Court of New Jersey, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. 

Speaker bio
Jerry R Knafo

Jerry R. Knafo

Knafo Law Offices
Jerry Knafo

is a personal injury attorney from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He attended Villanova University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration graduating 3rd in his major with magna cum laude honors. Mr. Knafo then attended law school at Temple University where he received the Barrister's Award for Trial Advocacy. He also holds two master's degrees; one in business administration (MBA) and one in psychology (MPsych). Mr. Knafo has received certification from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Business Analytics and certification from Harvard University Business School in Negotiation Mastery. He founded and serves as president and gold member of the Elite Lawyers of America organization with acceptance limited to lawyers who have obtained a verdict or settlement of at least two million dollars. Mr. Knafo is a certified civil trial advocate and civil pre-trial advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He served on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association (now known as Pennsylvania Attorneys for Justice) from 1987 to 2002. Mr. Knafo is former chairman of Hearing Committee 2.06 of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® for 21 consecutive years. Mr. Knafo has received the highest possible "AV preeminent rating" from Martindale-Hubbell® and has a "superb" 10.0 rating by AVVO®.

Speaker bio
Elizabeth A Underwood

Elizabeth A. Underwood

Marshall Dennehey, P.C.
Elizabeth Underwood

is a shareholder in the Health Care Department, where she focuses her practice in the areas of medical and dental malpractice, with a secondary focus on premises and product liability cases. She also handles large-scale personal injury claims arising from construction accidents. Ms. Underwood has represented a large number of doctors, dentists, physician assistants, certified registered nurse practitioners and nurses in a multitude of malpractice actions. She has also represented clients in construction liability cases involving the representation of general contractors, subcontractors, engineers, architects and surveyors; premises liability cases involving the representation of commercial shopping centers, corporate centers, health care offices, etc.; and product liability cases with respect to the representation of manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers. Ms. Underwood graduated cum laude from The George Washington University School of Law. She was awarded the American Bar Association/Bureau of National Affairs Award. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated cum laude and with distinction in her major of International Relations.

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