Litigation & Appeals

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Key Questioning Techniques Every Litigator Must Master

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Alaska CLE Reciprocity 6 Total
Alabama CLE Approved 6 Total
Arkansas CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6 Total
California CLE Approved 6 Total
Colorado CLE Approved 7 Total
Connecticut CLE Approved 6 Total
Delaware CLE Approved 6 Total
Florida CLE Approved 7 Total
Georgia CLE Approved 6 Total
Hawaii CLE Approved 6 Total
Iowa CLE Approved 6 Total
Idaho CLE Pending 6 Total
Illinois CLE Approved 6 Total
Indiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Kansas CLE Approved 7 Total
Kentucky CLE Approved 6 Total
Maine CLE Approved 6 Total
Minnesota CLE Approved 6 Total
Missouri CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Northern Mariana Islands CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Pending 6 Total
North Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Nebraska CLE Approved 6 Total
New Hampshire CLE Approved 6 Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6 Total
Nevada CLE Approved 6 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Ohio CLE Approved 6 Total
Oklahoma CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
South Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Tennessee CLE Approved 6 Total
Texas CLE Approved 6 Total
Utah CLE Approved 6 Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
Vermont CLE Approved 6 Total
Washington CLE Approved 6 Total
Wisconsin CLE Approved 7 Total
West Virginia CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Wyoming CLE Approved 6 Total
Live Online
6 hours
Tony Graffeo
Paul Friedman
Christopher Doak
Jacqueline Cooper Smoke
With Tony Graffeo from Alexander Shunnarah Injury Lawyers, PC + 3 others

Fri, Sep 25, 00:00 AM – 00:00 PM

Product ID 102297

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Overview

Ask Better Questions to Get Better Answers

Effective questioning is the foundation of successful advocacy, but few attorneys are truly strategic in how they ask questions. How do your skills stack up? Led by seasoned litigators, this program will show you how to control testimony, build a clean record, and persuade through strategic questioning techniques. Learn how to apply proven tactics across depositions, hearings, and trial - and avoid the common mistakes advocates make. Ask better questions and get better answers - register today!

  • Examine key questioning techniques every litigator worth their salt must master.
  • Take control of testimony and difficult witnesses with proven control strategies.
  • Tailor your question techniques effectively in depositions, hearings, and trial.
  • Identify the most common questioning practices that fall short or backfire.
  • Understand the boundaries between witness preparation and improper coaching.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. 7 Core Questioning Techniques: When and How to Use Them
  2. Control Strategies: Managing Testimony and Difficult Witnesses
  3. Impeachment and Persuasion Through Questioning
  4. Hearings: Efficient, Targeted Questioning Under Pressure
  5. Applying Questioning Techniques in Depositions
  6. Voir Dire: Questioning Techniques to Surface Bias
  7. Direct and Cross-Examination Tactics in Practice (With Questioning Examples)
  8. Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Questioning

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Related Topics

Product ID 102297

Credit Details

Credits Available
Credit Status Total
Alaska CLE Reciprocity 6 Total
Alabama CLE Approved 6 Total
Arkansas CLE Approved 6 Total
Arizona CLE Approved 6 Total
California CLE Approved 6 Total
Colorado CLE Approved 7 Total
Connecticut CLE Approved 6 Total
Delaware CLE Approved 6 Total
Florida CLE Approved 7 Total
Georgia CLE Approved 6 Total
Hawaii CLE Approved 6 Total
Iowa CLE Approved 6 Total
Idaho CLE Pending 6 Total
Illinois CLE Approved 6 Total
Indiana CLE Approved 6 Total
Kansas CLE Approved 7 Total
Kentucky CLE Approved 6 Total
Maine CLE Approved 6 Total
Minnesota CLE Approved 6 Total
Missouri CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Northern Mariana Islands CLE Approved 6 Total
Montana CLE Pending 6 Total
North Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Nebraska CLE Approved 6 Total
New Hampshire CLE Approved 6 Total
New Jersey CLE Approved 7.2 Total
New Mexico CLE Approved 6 Total
Nevada CLE Approved 6 Total
New York CLE Approved 7 Total
Ohio CLE Approved 6 Total
Oklahoma CLE Approved 7 Total
Pennsylvania CLE Approved 6 Total
South Carolina CLE Approved 6 Total
Tennessee CLE Approved 6 Total
Texas CLE Approved 6 Total
Utah CLE Approved 6 Total
Virginia CLE Approved 6 Total
Vermont CLE Approved 6 Total
Washington CLE Approved 6 Total
Wisconsin CLE Approved 7 Total
West Virginia CLE Approved 7.2 Total
Wyoming CLE Approved 6 Total
Select Jurisdiction
CLE

Agenda

All times are shown in

  1. 7 Core Questioning Techniques: When and How to Use Them

    1. Funnel Technique
    2. Looping and Repetition
    3. One Fact Per Question
    4. Leading vs. Open-Ended Questions
    5. Narrowing and Pin-Down Techniques
    6. Strategic Use of Silence
    7. Active Listening as a Questioning Skill

  2. Control Strategies: Managing Testimony and Difficult Witnesses

    1. Box-in Technique
    2. Yes/No Channeling
    3. Alternative Lock-In
    4. Preventing Narrative Drift
    5. Handling Evasive or Hostile Witnesses
    6. Questioning Vulnerable Witnesses Effectively

  3. Impeachment and Persuasion Through Questioning

    1. Impeachment: Step-by-Step Execution
    2. Commit-and-Compare Technique
    3. Contrast Technique
    4. Using Prior Statements and Documents Effectively
    5. Building Persuasive Themes Through Questioning

  4. Hearings: Efficient, Targeted Questioning Under Pressure

    1. What Attorneys Often Get Wrong in Hearings
    2. Tailoring Your Approach for Judge-Driven Proceedings
    3. Motions in Limine: Targeted Questioning Strategies
    4. Handling Interruptions and Limited Testimony
    5. Making a Clear and Usable Record

  5. Applying Questioning Techniques in Depositions

    1. Outline Tips and Sequencing Questions Strategically
    2. Using Questioning Techniques to Build a Clear Record
    3. Locking in Testimony for Layer Use
    4. Handling Objections and Maintaining Control
    5. Common Deposition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

  6. Voir Dire: Questioning Techniques to Surface Bias

    1. Crafting Effective Voir Dire Questions
    2. Group vs. Individual Questioning Strategies
    3. Techniques to Surface Bias and Juror Attitudes
    4. Distinguishing Between Risky and Rehabilitatable Jurors
    5. Follow-Up Questioning to Deepen Responses and Lock in Answers for Cause Challenges
    6. Using Questions to Introduce Themes and Test Reactions
    7. Common Voir Dire Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

  7. Direct and Cross-Examination Tactics in Practice (With Questioning Examples)

    1. Direct Examination: Structuring Testimony for Clarity, Credibility, and Impact
    2. Cross-Examination: Examples of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
    3. Redirect and Recross Examination: Mistakes to Avoid

  8. Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Questioning

    1. Permissible Preparation vs. Scripting Testimony
    2. “Memory Refreshing” vs. Influencing Answers
    3. Handling Difficult or Forgetful Witnesses
    4. Improper Questioning Tactics
    5. Ethical Issues in Use of Documents and Prior Statements (Mischaracterizing, Selective Quoting)
    6. Candor, Accountability, and Duty to Correct
    7. Abuse of Objections and Speaking Objections

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for attorneys.

Speakers

Tony Graffeo
Tony
Graffeo
Alexander Shunnarah Injury Lawyers, PC
Paul D Friedman
Paul D.
Friedman
Brown, Crowell & Friedman, PLLC d/b/a Accident Law Group
Christopher G Doak
Christopher G.
Doak
Woods Aitken LLP
Jacqueline Cooper Smoke
Jacqueline
Cooper Smoke
The Smoke Law Group, LLC
Speaker bio
Tony Graffeo

Tony Graffeo

Alexander Shunnarah Injury Lawyers, PC
Tony Graffeo

is the managing attorney at the Huntsville offices of Alexander Shunnarah Injury Attorneys, PC, where he concentrates on litigation of motor vehicle collision cases and other personal injury matters. He also has extensive experience litigating cases involving defective products, medical negligence, and premises liability. Mr. Graffeo is a member of the Alabama and Tennessee state bars, Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, American Association for Justice, and Alabama Association for Justice. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.

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Speaker bio
Paul D Friedman

Paul D. Friedman

Brown, Crowell & Friedman, PLLC d/b/a Accident Law Group
Paul Friedman

is a member, head of litigation and senior counsel with Brown, Crowell & Friedman, PLLC d/b/a Accident Law Group™. He practices in the areas of medical malpractice, significant personal injury and ethics matters. Dr. Friedman is board-certified by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification in civil pretrial practice advocacy and civil trial advocacy (NBOTA). He has been certified in injury and wrongful death litigation by the State Bar of Arizona since 1997. Dr. Friedman is an associate with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).He is also a medical malpractice diplomate with the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Mr. Friedman is a diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Examiners®, where he developed the curriculum for the Certified Forensic Consulting® Certification Course and authored the "Certified Forensic Consultant Body of Knowledge" by CRC Press. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, his J.D. degree from California Western School of Law, his master's degree in bioethics from Midwestern University/Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and his doctorate from LaCrosse University. Dr. Friedman was an adjunct professor of medical and research ethics at Midwestern University and the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he instructed health care providers and students in the medical field. He is currently an adjunct professor with the Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law at Arizona State University. Dr. Friedman's leadership, memberships and honors include the following Judge Pro Tempore for the Maricopa County Superior Court since 2005, attorney board member of the Arizona Supreme Court Board of Legal Document Preparers since 2007, initial board member of the newly formed Board of Non-Lawyer Professionals, attorney ,member of the Arizona Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Panel, member of the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Judicial Performance Review since 2012, and the State Bar of Arizona Fee Arbitration Committee since 2012. He is admitted to practice in Arizona, Colorado, and District of Columbia; and the Federal Bar, U.S. District Court of Arizona, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court.

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Speaker bio
Christopher G Doak

Christopher G. Doak

Woods Aitken LLP
Christopher Doak

is an attorney at Woods Aitken LLP. He assists corporate clients at all phases of litigation. He also assists corporate clients with contract reviews and employment matters. Mr. Doak has previous experience representing regional and multinational corporations in a wide range of high-exposure cases concerning large-scale commercial projects involving construction defect claims and breach of contract allegations to personal injury lawsuits involving wrongful death. He earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law. During law school, Mr. Doak served as a judicial extern for the Honorable Thomas James McAvoy of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. He was also the recipient of numerous awards, including CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in three classes: Trial Advocacy, U.S. Arbitration and Practice, and Legal Writing. Mr. Doak earned his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Hobart College, where he majored in economics.

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Speaker bio
Jacqueline Cooper Smoke

Jacqueline Cooper Smoke

The Smoke Law Group, LLC
Jacqueline Cooper Smoke

is the owner and managing attorney of The Smoke Law Group, LLC. She is licensed in the state of Alabama to practice law in all state and federal courts. Ms. Smoke has a general practice, with an emphasis on complex civil and criminal litigation. She practices Social Security disability law, and has enjoyed success with claimants in throughout Alabama, including claimants in Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham. Ms. Smoke's professional legal experience includes complex civil cases involving wrongful death and serious personal injury, employment discrimination and products liability. She has tried many civil and criminal cases and practices in both state and federal court. Ms. Smoke began practicing Social Security disability law when a personal injury client persisted in requesting that she becomes her representative. She began her legal career practicing with Beasley, Allen, et al. in Montgomery, Alabama in their commercial litigation section. Ms. Smoke has also practice many years with another law firm and worked as an assistant district attorney for the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County Alabama. She served as a temporary probate judge in Montgomery County and is a professor at the Birmingham School of Law where she has taught torts, evidence, legal research, criminal procedure and lawyering skills. Ms. Smoke is an also an engineer with almost ten years of experience with Alabama Power Company as a distribution and transmission engineer. She served as the electric operations manager for Bessemer Utilities in 2010. Ms. Smoke is a two-time graduate of The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering, and a Juris Doctorate from The University of Alabama School of Law. She is an active member of the Alabama State Bar, Birmingham Bar Association, Alabama Association for Justice and NELA Alabama.

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