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? Take your courtroom presentation skills to the next level of excellence with this strategic guide. Order today!

1. Voir Dire and Jury Selection Strategies
2. Opening Statements and Direct Examination
3. Cross-Examination and Redirect – Focus on Experts and Evidence
4. Effective Exhibits and Courtroom Technology
5. Summations and Jury Instructions
6. Roundtable Discussion

Continuing Education Credits:   

* denotes specialty credits

1. VOIR DIRE AND JURY SELECTION STRATEGIES
   9:00 - 10:15, Jack P. Burden
   1. Preparing for Jury Selection – Researching Your “Target Audience”
      (Venue, Juror Pool Demographics, Creating Your “Ideal Juror,” Drafting Surveys/Questionnaires, etc.)
   2. Preparing the Pre-Trial Order
   3. Introducing Your Case During Jury Selection
   4. Bringing to the Surface and Overcoming Juror and Judicial Biases
   5. Reading the Vital Non-Verbal Signals Jurors are Sending
   6. Peremptory and For-Cause Challenge Tactics
2. OPENING STATEMENTS AND DIRECT EXAMINATION
   10:30 - 12:00, Justin M. Clouser
   1. 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)
   2. Preparation Tips for Direct Examination
      (Establishing the Main Theme; Organizing the Order of Testimony; Preparing Witnesses; Formulating Effective Questions)
   3. Areas of Direct Examination
      (Specific Approaches to Impeachment, Fact Testimony, Expert Testimony, Causation, Liability, Damages, Foundation, etc.)
   4. Persuasive Witness Testimony – How to:
      1. Develop the Story and Make it Interesting
      2. Integrate a Theme
      3. Adjust to the Specific Audience
      4. Limit the Scope
      5. Handle and Introduce Exhibits
      6. Authenticate Documents
      7. Humanize Your Witness
      8. Anticipate and Neutralize Cross-Examination
   5. Is Interim Commentary Allowed? How to Use it Well
3. CROSS-EXAMINATION AND REDIRECT – FOCUS ON EXPERTS AND EVIDENCE
   1:00 - 2:00, Mitchell Posin
   1. Advance Uses of Basic Cross-Exam Tools: Bias, Opportunity to Observe, Inconsistency, etc.
   2. Tips for Cross-Examining Difficult Lay Witnesses
   3. Opposing Experts in the Courtroom – Setting Up the Motion to Strike
      1. Timing/Sequence
      2. Phrasing
      3. Detailed Facts
      4. Psychological Components
      5. Advanced Techniques for Getting an Expert Disqualified
   4. Making and Responding to Objections
   5. Relevancy Issues
   6. Addressing Hearsay
   7. Redirect Examination – Taking Advantage of the Often-Overlooked Resource
4. EFFECTIVE EXHIBITS AND COURTROOM TECHNOLOGY
   2:00 - 2:30 and 2:45 - 3:15, Mitchell Posin
   1. Overcoming Fear and Confronting Technology
   2. Preparing for the Digital Trial
      1. Digital Case Storage and Organization
      2. Authentication of Documents
      3. Document/Exhibit Organization
      4. Preparing the Courtroom and Conditioning the Jury
      5. Blending Technology Use Into Your Presentation for Seamless Delivery
   3. 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)
   4. Does Each of Your Exhibits Pass the 8-Point Test?
   5. What Can the Opposing Counsel do With the Evidence I Introduce?
   6. Video Depositions (Prior Testimony)
      1. Advantages and Pitfalls
      2. When to Use
      3. Rules of Completeness
      4. Objections
      5. Fairness
5. SUMMATIONS AND JURY INSTRUCTIONS
   3:15 - 4:15, George E. Cromer
   1. What to Include
   2. Length and Style Tactics
   3. Use of Pace and Voice Inflection to Emphasize Key Elements
   4. Addressing the Weak Points of the Case
   5. The Verdict Sheet/Jury Instructions – Clearly Asking for What You Want
6. ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
   4:15 - 4:30, Jack P. Burden, Justin M. Clouser, George E. Cromer and Martin J. Kravitz
   1. Handling Surprises at Trial – What to do When Unfavorable Facts Surface
   2. Lessons Learned From Experience – Share Your Trial Tips and Techniques

JACK P. BURDEN is a named partner with Backus Carranza and is a litigation attorney with practice emphasis in products liability, construction, premises liability, food liability and commercial litigation matters. Mr. Burden joined the Backus Carranza firm in 2000 and has successfully defended a myriad of clients from Fortune 500 Companies, sports related entities to locally owned businesses and individuals. Mr. Burden received his J.D. degree from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas in 1998. He also graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism in 1993, where he received a B.A. degree in journalism and a minor in speech communications. Mr. Burden was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada and the United States District Court - District of Nevada in 1999. He was later admitted to the United States Supreme Court in 2003. Mr. Burden has been a resident of the local Southern Nevada community for over 33 years. In 2010, Mr. Burden was accepted into the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) and is a recent graduate of the IADC Trial Academy at Stanford University. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Clark County Bar Association, American Bar Association, Clark County Legal Services' Pro Bono Project, The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Clark County School District's "Stay in School" mentorship program. In 2006, Mr. Burden assisted the State Bar of Nevada's Revised Jury Instructions Committee and authored the premises liability portion of the project. Mr. Burden has also authored "Preemptive Tactics in Avoiding Sanctions Surrounding Spoliation of Evidence" for DRI. He has been a frequent presenter in the following continuing education courses for the National Business Institute: Lessons Learned From Key Bad Faith Court Rulings, National Business Institute, February 18, 2009; Litigating Bad Faith Insurance Claims, National Business Institute, June 4, 2009; and Dirty Litigation Tactics: How to Deal with the "Rambo" Litigator, National Business Institute, June 30, 2010.

JUSTIN M. CLOUSER is an attorney in Minden, Nevada, with the law firm of JM Clouser & Associates, where he has a general practice focused on plaintiff's personal injury. He has lectured previously on his areas of expertise. Mr. Clouser is a member of the State Bar of California, the State Bar of Nevada, The Florida Bar, the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nevada Association for Justice. He earned his B.S. degree from Eastern Illinois University and J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee.

GEORGE E. CROMER is a sole practitioner in Las Vegas where he practices in the areas of civil litigation, divorce and commercial law. Mr. Cromer is a member of the State Bar of Nevada. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his J.D. degree from California Western School of Law.

MITCHELL POSIN is a partner in the Las Vegas law firm of Posin & Posin, where he practices in the areas of criminal defense, personal injury, Social Security, disability law and securities arbitration. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz and his J.D. degree from Golden Gate University. Mr. Posin is a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice. He also is a founding member of the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

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

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