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

AM Session 9:00 – 12:00
Panel Members: Judge Ann L. Carrott, Judge Frederick L. Grunke and Judge Mary B. Mahler
Moderator: Michael A. Bryant

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: Judge Douglas P. Anderson, Judge Frank J. Kundrat and Judge Mary B. Mahler
Moderator: Michael A. Bryant

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. DOUGLAS P. ANDERSON is a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court serving in Morrison County, Minnesota.

HON. ANN L. CARROTT is a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court serving in Douglas County, Minnesota.

HON. FREDERICK L. GRUNKE is a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court serving in Stearns County, Minnesota.

HON. FRANK J. KUNDRAT is a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court serving in Stearns County, Minnesota.

HON. MARY B. MAHLER is a District Court Judge in the Seventh Judicial District Court serving in Stearns County, Minnesota.

MODERATOR - MICHAEL A. BRYANT is the owner of the Waite Park law firm of Bradshaw & Bryant, PLLC, where he devotes his practice to representing clients suffering from minor, serious and catastrophic injuries. Mr. Bryant has extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies and litigating personal injury and wrongful death claims throughout Minnesota. He was named MTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year. Mr. Bryant is a member of the Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers of Minnesota (ACTLM); the Stearns/Benton County Bar Association; the Minnesota State (civil trial specialist - certified by the Civil Litigation Section) and Federal bar associations; the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association; the Minnesota Criminal Defense Lawyers; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; the Minnesota Association for Justice; and the Warren Burger Inns of Court. Mr. Bryant is certified as a civil trial advocacy specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He earned his B.A. degree from Gustavus Adolphus and his J.D. degree from William Mitchell College of Law.

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