Reaching civil litigation case resolution depends on your ability to present your case in the best possible light. Order today to receive practical suggestions for enhancing your courtroom performance - from discovery, to motion hearings, to evidence, to handling juries - and increase your chances of success in the courtroom!

1. Case Management and Pretrial Conferences
2. Scheduling Orders
3. Effective and Ineffective Discovery Practices
4. Motion Hearing - When, Why, and How?
5. Judges View on Technology in the Court Room
6. Legal Ethics - The Judicial View
7. Voir Dire: Do's and Don'ts
8. Trial Practice Tips in Civil Court
9. Witnesses and Evidence: Mistakes to Avoid
10. Opening Statements and Closing Arguments

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

AM Session: 9:00 – 12:00
Panel Members:
Hon. Nancy F. Alley
Hon. Robert T. Burger
Hon. Cynthia L. Cox
Hon. Jeffrey Mahl
Moderator: Douglas R. Beam

1. CASE MANAGEMENT AND PRETRIAL CONFERENCES
   1. Case Management
   2. Tips for a Productive Settlement Conference
   3. Mistakes to Avoid at the Pretrial Conference
2. SCHEDULING ORDERS
3. EFFECTIVE AND INEFFECTIVE DISCOVERY PRACTICES
   1. Interrogatories
   2. Be Careful What You Object To
   3. Discovery Issues Judges Should Never Hear
   4. The Emerging World of E-Discovery
   5. Getting Accurate Answers From Your Clients
4. MOTION HEARING - WHEN, WHY, AND HOW?
   1. Discovery Disputes
   2. Filing Dispositive Motions
   3. Motions in Limine
5. JUDGES’ VIEWS ON TECHNOLOGY IN THE COURTROOM
   1. What Technology is Available?
   2. Advantages/Disadvantages of High-Tech Presentations
   3. Evidentiary Issues Relative to the Use of Technology in the Courtroom

PM Session: 1:00 – 4:30
Panel Members:
Hon. Nancy F. Alley
Hon. Robert T. Burger
Hon. Cynthia L. Cox
Hon. Jeffrey Mahl
Moderator: Douglas R. Beam

6. LEGAL ETHICS - THE JUDICIAL VIEW (1:00 - 2:00)
   1. Best Practices in Communication Between Bench and Bar
   2. The Boundary of Advocacy and Ethical Litigation Conduct
   3. Protecting Confidentiality
   4. Ethical Conduct in the Courtroom
   5. Keeping the Client in the Loop
   6. Whose Case Decision is it Anyway? When Attorneys Can and Cannot Speak in Clients' Stead
   7. Attorneys' Fees
   8. Effective and Ethical Lawyer Advertising
7. VOIR DIRE: DO'S AND DON'TS
8. TRIAL PRACTICE TIPS IN CIVIL COURT
   1. How to be "Trial Ready"
   2. Jury Instructions Beyond the Standard List
   3. The Value of a Good Appearance
9. WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE: MISTAKES TO AVOID
   1. How a Witness Ruins a "Good" Case
   2. Expert Witnesses
   3. Introducing Evidence at Trial
   4. The Proper Way to Object in Court
   5. Learning When Not to Object
   6. When is a Side Bar Appropriate?
10. OPENING STATEMENTS AND CLOSING ARGUMENTS
    1. What is an Opening Statement?
    2. The Significance of an Opening Statement
    3. Effective Closing Argument Strategies
    4. Objecting During Argument

HON. NANCY F. ALLEY is a Circuit Court Judge for the 18th Judicial District in Seminole County, Florida.

HON. ROBERT T. BURGER is a Circuit Court Judge for the 18th Judicial District in Brevard County, Florida.

HON. CYNTHIA L. COX is a Circuit Court Judge for the 19th Judicial District in Indian River County, Florida.

HON. JEFFREY MAHL is a Circuit Court Judge for the 18th Judicial District in Brevard County, Florida.

MODERATOR - DOUGLAS R. BEAM is the founder of Douglas R. Beam, P.A. Mr. Beam is a trial lawyer and has tried hundreds of cases. The law firm represents clients in a wide range of cases, including motor vehicle accidents, traumatic brain injury, wrongful death, trucking accidents, nursing home and assisted living center neglect, premises liability, and aviation accidents. In the law firm's criminal defense practice, the attorneys represent individuals who have been accused of crimes or are being investigated for alleged criminal offenses - from misdemeanors to felonies. The law firm also represents lawyers being investigated or prosecuted by The Florida Bar. Mr. Beam is a certified mediator in circuit, county and family courts, and is an approved arbitrator by The Florida Supreme Court. He is the past president of the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents and the Brevard County Bar Association. Mr. Beam is the recipient of the First Annual Professionalism Award of the Brevard County Bar Association and the first lifetime member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a sustaining member of the American Association for Justice and a member of the Florida Justice Association. He has served as chairperson of the 18C Grievance Committee of The Florida Bar and as chairperson of the 18th Judicial Circuit Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee "A." He is a member of The National Trial Lawyers, an organization limited to 100 trial lawyers in each state, and he is AV- rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He received his law degree from The University of Tennessee College of Law, where he received the Dean's Citation for Extraordinary Contributions to the University of Tennessee College of Law; and served as an editor of the Tennessee Law Review and editor-in-chief of The Forum, the law school newspaper.

Please refer to Continuing Education Credit FAQ for general information about seeking credit for your participation in one of our continuing education programs.

Additionally, our team of credit specialists are here to answer your specific credit-related questions weekdays 7am - 5pm Central:

Phone: 866-240-1890

Email: credit@nbi-sems.com