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Morning Session (9:00-12:00)

1. Building a Sustainable Case Theme
2. Effective Motions and Discovery
3. Judges' View on Settlement Techniques
4. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Jury Trials
5. What Should be Included in the Opening Statement
6. Making and Handling Motions and Objections at Trial

Afternoon Session (1:00-4:30)

7. Legal Ethics - The Judicial View
8. Direct and Cross-Examination
9. Introducing Evidence: When and How to do it
10. Expert Examination
11. Closing Argument and Jury Instructions

Morning Session (9:00-12:00)
Panel Members: Honorable John C. Cooper, Honorable Angela C. Dempsey, Honorable James C. Hankinson, Honorable Frank E. Sheffield, Honorable Mark E. Walker and Moderator - J. Steven Carter

1. Building a Sustainable Case Theme
2. Effective Motions and Discovery
1. Motions Do's and Don'ts
2. E-Discovery
3. Deposition Practices
4. Discovery Disputes
3. Judges' View on Settlement Techniques
1. ADR Options
2. Mediation
3. Notifying the Court of the Decision Reached
4. Pre-Trial Conferences
4. Common Mistakes to Avoid in Jury Trials
1. What to Bring With You to Court
2. Voir Dire and Jury Selection: Best Use of Questions and Challenges
3. Bench Conferences During Trial
4. Humor in the Courtroom: Is it Appropriate?
5. What Should be Included in the Opening Statement
6. Making and Handling Motions and Objections at Trial
1. Causes
2. Timing

Afternoon Session (1:00-4:30)
Panel Members: Honorable John C. Cooper, Honorable Angela C. Dempsey, Honorable James C. Hankinson, Honorable Frank E. Sheffield, Honorable Mark E. Walker and Moderator - J. Steven Carter

7. Legal Ethics - The Judicial View
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
8. Direct and Cross-Examination
1. What Your Witness Should Know
2. Which Questions Not to Ask
3. Timing Considerations
4. Handling Difficult Witnesses
9. Introducing Evidence: When and How to do it
10. Expert Examination
1. Expert Credibility
2. Addressing the Highly Technical Content
3. Cross-Examination Don'ts
11. Closing Argument and Jury Instructions
1. The Goal of the Closing Argument
2. The Importance of Clear Jury Instructions

HON. JOHN C. COOPER is a Circuit Court judge in the Second Judicial Circuit. Judge Cooper earned his B.A. degree from Florida State University and his J.D. degree from Florida State University College of Law.

HON. ANGELA C. DEMPSEY is a Circuit Court judge for the Second Judicial District where she presides over criminal, delinquency, dependency, dissolution of marriage and domestic violence cases. Judge Dempsey earned her B.S. degree from San Diego State University, her M.A. degree from Florida State University and her J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of Florida. She is a member of the Tallahassee Bar Association, the Tallahassee Women Lawyers Association, the Florida Government Bar Association, the William H. Stafford Inn of Court and the Conference of Circuit Court Judges (Education Committee).

HON. JAMES C. HANKINSON is a Circuit Court judge with the Second Judicial Circuit, Leon County Courthouse. His judicial assignments include criminal, civil and family law. Judge Hankinson was the assistant State Attorney with the Second Judicial Circuit from May 1981 to March 1991, the assistant United States Attorney with the Northern District of Florida from March 1991 to April 2000 and the chief assistant United States Attorney with the Northern District of Florida from May 2000 to December 2001. He received his B.A. degree from Davidson College and his J.D. degree from Florida State University.

HON. FRANK E. SHEFFIELD is a Circuit Court judge for the Second Judicial Circuit. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Sheffield was owner of Frank E. Sheffield, P.A. from September 1980 to January of 2009. He earned his B.S. degree from Florida State University and his J.D. degree from Florida State University College of Law. Judge Sheffield is a member of The Florida Bar (member, Criminal Law, Family Law sections), the American Bar Association, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Association of Florida Trial Lawyers, the American Association of Trial Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association.

HON. MARK E. WALKER is a Circuit Court judge for the Second Judicial Circuit. Judge Walker received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida.

MODERATOR - J. STEVEN CARTER joined the firm of Henry, Buchanan, Hudson, Suber & Carter, P.A., in March 1994. He clerked for the firm as a law student from 1989-1991 before taking a job with Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villereal & Banker in Tampa, where he worked for three years as an associate in their business litigation department. Mr. Carter is recognized by The Florida Bar as a Board Certified Civil Trial lawyer. Mr. Carter has a strong background in commercial and corporate litigation and also practices civil litigation in the areas of medical malpractice, general tort and insurance defense, civil rights and constitutional claims, the defense of employers in discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, and all other litigation involving employment and civil rights issues. He has been named to Florida Trend Magazine's "Florida Legal Elite" in the practice of civil trial law, which ranks the top 2% of practicing Florida Bar Members by peer review. Also, Mr. Carter has been listed as a Florida Super Lawyer in the areas of business litigation, civil litigation defense, and general Litigation in the Super Lawyers Magazine, a peer review publication by Law & Politics Magazine. Mr. Carter received his B.S. degree, cum laude, in Business Administration from Birmingham Southern College and his J.D. degree, with honors, from Florida State University. He is a member of the Litigation and the Business and Labor Law sections of the American Bar Association, the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar, the Tallahassee Bar Association, and the Tallahassee Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Mr. Carter is rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell.

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