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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
- Voir Dire and Jury Selection Strategies
- Opening Statements and Direct Examination
- Cross-Examination and Redirect - Focus on Experts and Evidence
- Effective Exhibits and Courtroom Technology
- Summations and Jury Instructions
- Handling Surprises at Trial
- Trial Ethics
Credit Details
Credits Available
| Credit | Status | Total | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey CLE |
|
7.2 Total | 12-05-2025 |
| New York CLE |
|
7 Total | 03-28-2028 |
| Pennsylvania CLE |
|
6 Total | 03-28-2027 |
Select Jurisdiction
CLE
Agenda
-
Voir Dire and Jury Selection Strategies
- Preparing for Jury Selection - Researching Your "Target Audience"
(Venue, Juror Pool Demographics, Creating Your "Ideal Juror," Drafting Surveys/Questionnaires, etc.) - Preparing the Pre-Trial Order
- Introducing Your Case During Jury Selection
- Bringing to the Surface and Overcoming Juror and Judicial Biases
- Reading the Vital Non-Verbal Signals Jurors are Sending
- Peremptory and For-Cause Challenge Tactics
- Preparing for Jury Selection - Researching Your "Target Audience"
-
Opening Statements and Direct Examination
- 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) - Preparation Tips for Direct Examination
(Establishing the Main Theme; Organizing the Order of Testimony; Preparing Witnesses; Formulating Effective Questions) - Areas of Direct Examination
(Specific Approaches to Impeachment, Fact Testimony, Expert Testimony, Causation, Liability, Damages, Foundation, etc.) - Persuasive Witness Testimony - How to:
- Develop the Story and Make it Interesting
- Integrate a Theme
- Adjust to the Specific Audience
- Limit the Scope
- Handle and Introduce Exhibits
- Authenticate Documents
- Humanize Your Witness
- Anticipate and Neutralize Cross-Examination
- Is Interim Commentary Allowed? How to Use it Well
- Maximizing the Impact of Opening Statements
-
Cross-Examination and Redirect - Focus on Experts and Evidence
- Advanced Uses of Basic Cross-Exam Tools: Bias, Opportunity to Observe, Inconsistency, etc.
- Tips for Cross-Examining Difficult Lay Witnesses
- Opposing Experts in the Courtroom - Setting Up the Motion to Strike
- Timing/Sequence
- Phrasing
- Detailed Facts
- Psychological Components
- Advanced Techniques for Getting an Expert Disqualified
- Making and Responding to Objections
- Relevancy Issues
- Addressing Hearsay
- Redirect Examination - Taking Advantage of the Often-Overlooked Resource
-
Effective Exhibits and Courtroom Technology
- Overcoming Fear and Confronting Technology
- Preparing for the Digital Trial
- Digital Case Storage and Organization
- Authentication of Documents
- Document/Exhibit Organization
- Preparing the Courtroom and Conditioning the Jury
- Blending Technology Use Into Your Presentation for Seamless Delivery
- 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) - Does Each of Your Exhibits Pass the 8-Point Test?
- What Can the Opposing Counsel do With the Evidence I Introduce?
- Video Depositions (Prior Testimony)
- Advantages and Pitfalls
- When to Use
- Rules of Completeness
- Objections
- Fairness
-
Summations and Jury Instructions
- What to Include
- Length and Style Tactics
- Use of Pace and Voice Inflection to Emphasize Key Elements
- Addressing the Weak Points of the Case
- The Verdict Sheet/Jury Instructions - Clearly Asking for What You Want
-
Handling Surprises at Trial
-
Trial Ethics
- Courtroom Civility
- Candor Toward the Tribunal
- Ethical Issues in the Preparation and Use of Witnesses
- Investigating and Communicating with Jurors
- Trial Publicity
Who Should Attend
This advanced level online seminar is designed for trial attorneys and litigation support professionals.
Speakers
Speaker bio
Rachel A. 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
Scott K. Johnson
is senior counsel in the Seattle office of Klinedinst PC, and has been advocating for clients in all forms of litigation for over 25 years. He has represented individuals, small businesses, non-profit and educational institutions in state and federal courts in California, Pennsylvania, and Washington and across the United States. As a business trial attorney, Mr. Johnson has broad experience in areas including complex commercial litigation, consumer fraud, antitrust, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations. Aside from handling litigation matters, he has also negotiated executive compensation agreements and institutional vendor contracts on behalf of numerous private companies and educational institutions as well has handling collective bargaining negotiations and National Labor Relations Board matters. Mr. Johnson earned his B.A. degree from University of Washington; his M.P.A. degree from University of Washington; and his J.D. degree from University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Speaker bio
Robert S. Tintner
is a commercial litigator at Fox Rothschild 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
Paul M. Pohl
is of counsel at the Pittsburgh location of Jones Day. He practices in business and tort litigation, as well as heath care and life sciences. Mr. Pohl has tried cases and handled multi-case, multi-jurisdictional litigation projects for such clients as Firestone, General Motors, Sherwin-Williams, U. S. Steel, The Williams Companies, Yamaha, and UPMC. He also has represented dioceses, colleges, and religious orders. Mr. Pohl is a life member of The American Law Institute where he has taught trial advocacy, and he is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He also has chaired the Lawyer's Advisory Committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and has served as Chairman of the Board of the Rand Corporation's Institute for Civil Justice. Mr. Pohl is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in four categories, and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers has listed him as the "Best Lawyer" in "Bet-The-Company" litigation. In 2017, the Legal 500 publication named him to its inaugural "Hall of Fame" for his litigation successes. Mr. Pohl graduated from Princeton cum laude, was nominated by Princeton for a Rhodes Scholarship, and received a National Science Foundation Grant for postgraduate research. He earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh and was the winner of The Gourley Cup Trial Competition sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Association. Mr. Pohl is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Speaker bio
Ramsay M. Whitworth
is a partner at Silverman Thompson in the firm's Business Litigation Group. He regularly represents clients in financial, business, employment, construction, real estate, and securities related disputes. In addition to being repeatedly recognized as one Maryland's top business litigators, Mr. Whitworth also serves as outside general counsel to many companies and entrepreneurs in a variety of different industries, including financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, and real estate development. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, Alpha Chi National Honor Scholarship Society, from Marist College; and his J.D. degree, with honors, Order of the Barristers, from University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Whitworth is admitted to practice in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Speaker bio
C. Scott Toomey
is the managing partner of the firm's Pennsylvania office, located on Philadelphia's Main Line. He has defended product manufacturers, utilities and other companies faced with personal injury, death and property damage lawsuits. Mr. Toomey trial and appellate experience includes matters in state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and beyond. He has been admitted pro hac vice to handle cases in over a dozen states. He has tried more than twenty cases to verdict as lead trial counsel and has been cited as an "exceptional trial lawyer" in The Legal 500: The Clients' Guide to the U.S. Legal Profession. (2010). Mr. Toomey's experience includes defending a range of companies, from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized multi-state suppliers to niche manufacturers. Products defended include automobiles, auto components and aftermarket parts and their sellers. He has defended industrial and consumer products from helmets to metallic coatings to potentially toxic chemicals. He earned his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Middlebury College and his J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. Mr. Toomey also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute and co-chair of its Products Liability Committee. He is active in the Defense Research Institute and the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel. Mr. Toomey has published and lectured extensively to legal and industry groups.
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