No case can be won on sheer brilliance alone. Evidence is the backbone on which effective advocacy is borne. Are you making the best use of all types of evidence in each case? In this comprehensive legal guide, experienced attorney faculty share their tips on how to recognize key evidence and then traverse the obstacle course of qualifying rules and opposing counsel's attempts to strike it, to deliver it to the decision maker unscathed and introduce it for maximum impact. Learn to use the rules of evidence with surgical precision – order today!

1. Determining Admissibility
2. Hearsay Objections and Exceptions
3. Witnesses
4. Expert Reports and Scientific Evidence
5. Ethics
6. Electronic Discovery Update
7. Authentication, Exhibits and Courtroom Presentation

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

1. DETERMINING ADMISSIBILITY
   9:00 - 10:00, John S. Austin
   1. Determine Applicability of Rules: State and Federal
   2. Is it Hearsay?
   3. Is it Relevant?
   4. Reasons to Exclude
      1. Exclusion on Grounds of Prejudice, Confusion, or Waste of Time
      2. Other Reasons Based on the Types of Evidence
         1. Character Evidence or Evidence of Habit
         2. On Subsequent Remedial Measures
         3. Of Witness Credibility
   5. Is the Evidence Authentic?
   6. Is There a Proper Foundation?
   7. If Evidence is a Writing, a Recording or a Photograph, is the Best Evidence Rule Satisfied?
   8. Admissibility of Evidence of Subsequent Remedial Measures
   9. Stipulations
   10. Proper Way to Introduce Items Into Evidence
2. HEARSAY OBJECTIONS AND EXCEPTIONS
   10:00 - 10:45, John S. Austin
   1. Formal Exceptions to Hearsay
   2. FRE 801(d) Exceptions
   3. Anticipating and Minimizing Hearsay Objections
   4. Hearsay in the Direct Examination of Your Client: How to Elicit What You Need Without Inviting Hearsay
   5. Hearsay Problems When Your Client, or Opposing Party, is Deceased
   6. Hearsay in Medical Records: When it Comes in, When it Doesn't
   7. Recent Case Law
3. WITNESSES
   11:00 -12:00, Paul R. Dickinson Jr.
   1. Qualification
   2. Opinions and Firsthand Knowledge
   3. Deposition/Examination Procedure
   4. Impeachment
      1. Prior Inconsistent Statements/Contradiction
      2. Bias
      3. Character-Related
      4. Other
   5. Dealing With Missing Witnesses, Evidence and Documents
   6. Disclosures to Opposing Counsel
   7. Complying With the Scheduling Order
   8. Offers of Proof
4. EXPERT REPORTS AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
   1:00 - 1:45, Brian P. Simpson
   1. Assessing the Potential Weight of Scientific Evidence
   2. Qualifying Experts and Verifying Methodologies/Theories
   3. Admissibility of What You Give Your Expert
   4. The Logistics of Obtaining, Analyzing and Admitting Expert Opinion Reports
   5. Looking out for Red Flags and Errors
5. ETHICS
   1:45 - 2:45, E. Clarke Dummit
   1. Facilitating Efficiency, Reliability and Overall Fairness of the Adversary Process
   2. Complying With Time Constraints
   3. Asserting and Challenging Privileges Under Rule 502(d)
   4. Abusive Litigation Practices and Their Remedies
   5. Keeping the Client Informed
   6. What to do When Your Client is Dishonest
6. ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY UPDATE
   3:00 - 3:30, Barbara J. Rynne
   1. Sedona Principles
   2. Litigation Holds Case Law Update - Helping Business Clients be Prepared
   3. Identifying and Communicating With Data Custodians
   4. E-Discovery Technology Tools and Vendors - A Necessary Evil?
   5. Top 10 Mistakes That can Jeopardize Admissibility of Electronically Stored Evidence
7. AUTHENTICATION, EXHIBITS AND COURTROOM PRESENTATION
   3:30 - 4:30, Paul R. Dickinson Jr.
   1. Chain of Custody/Care and Handling/Spoliation
   2. Technical Methods of Preparing and Defending Motions in Limine
   3. Rules Regarding the Use of Demonstrative Exhibits
   4. Common Mistakes in Introducing Evidence and Testimony at Trial
   5. Presenting Deposition Records Without Boring Decision Makers to Tears
   6. Contemporaneous Objection Rule
   7. Curtailing Speaking Objections
   8. Bench (Sidebar) Conferences
   9. Instructing the Jury to Disregard Information When Objection is Sustained
   10. Practical Case Studies: Best Ways of Getting Evidence Excluded and Admitted
   11. Using Exhibits in Closing Arguments

JOHN S. AUSTIN is the principal of The Law Offices of John Austin, PLLC, in Raleigh and practices in the areas of commercial litigation, personal injury, civil litigation, appellate advocacy, toxic tort litigation, and creditors'/debtors' rights. During law school, Mr. Austin was the managing editor of the Campbell Law Review. After law school he clerked for Burley B. Mitchell, former chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Mr. Austin taught business law at Wake Technical Community College for one year. Currently he is a member of the Wake County, North Carolina and American (member, Litigation Section) bar associations. Mr. Austin earned his B.A. degree from North Carolina State University and his J.D. degree from Campbell University School of Law.

PAUL R. DICKINSON JR. is a partner in the Charlotte office of Lewis & Roberts, P.L.L.C. Lewis & Roberts maintains offices in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Dickinson's practice concentrates in the areas catastrophic personal injury, including nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, products liability, and work related injuries. He also maintains a practice related to business litigation, and other similar types of professional malpractice. Mr. Dickinson has tried cases to jury verdict involving wrongful death, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, severe personal injury, and work related accidents. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association (member, sections on Litigation and Professional Negligence), the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (member, Professional Negligence Section), and The American Association of Justice (member, Professional Negligence Section).  He earned his B.A. degree from the University of South Florida and his J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law.

E. CLARKE DUMMIT is the founder of The Dummit Law Firm in Winston-Salem, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of criminal law with a focus on driving while impaired and drug cases. His firm also litigates personal injury, medical malpractice and workers' compensation. The Dummit Law Firm regularly affiliates with other firms to litigate cases in both criminal and civil trials. He is the author of The North Carolina DWI Manual and is the founder of the North Carolina DWI Round Table. Mr. Dummit is a frequent lecturer on various issues relating to criminal law including driving while impaired. He is admitted to practice in North Carolina and Georgia, as well as before federal courts. Mr. Dummit earned his B.A. degree from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. degree from Wake Forest University. He has been a member of the Forsyth County and North Carolina bar associations, the Academy of Trial Lawyers and, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

BARBARA J. RYNNE is an associate with The Dummit Law Firm, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she specializes in criminal defense litigation. Ms. Rynne has represented criminal defendants charged with, among other things, murder, drug trafficking, robbery, assault and various criminal domestic charges in both District and Superior Court. Prior to joining The Dummit Law Firm, Ms. Rynne spent a total of 10 years as a prosecutor in Monmouth County, New Jersey and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Ms. Rynne is a member of the Mecklenburg County Bar Association and former member of the National District Attorney's Association (NDAA). She has tried more than 100 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials, as both a prosecutor and defense attorney. While a member of the NDAA, Ms. Rynne was able to hone her skills as a litigator at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. She has frequently taught CLE classes for fellow attorneys and law enforcement officers. Ms. Rynne earned her B.A. degree from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York and her J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey. She is admitted to practice law in the State Courts of North Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and in the U.S. District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Western District of North Carolina.

BRIAN P. SIMPSON joined The Dummit Law Firm in 2010 and practices criminal and civil law with a focus in the area of fiduciary litigation. Mr. Simpson earned his B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a double major in political science and philosophy, and his J.D. degree, with honors, from the University Of Arkansas School Of Law. While there, Mr. Simpson was on the dean's list, and was a Note and Comment editor for the Journal of Food Law and Policy. He is admitted to practice in North Carolina and Arkansas.

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