Jordan Jewkes

Million-dollar verdicts are not reserved for urban venues.

Many lawyers assume rural counties are defense-friendly, skeptical of damages, and hostile to plaintiffs. So they lower expectations. They discount the value. They try cases cautiously. This is what the defense expects, too.

That mindset loses verdicts before voir dire even begins.

In this session, Jordan Jewkes breaks down his record-breaking $1.9 million jury verdict in Butts County, Georgia, a very conservative rural venue, and walks step-by-step through the strategy, preparation, and TLU-based trial methods that made that result possible.

This lecture focuses on how to apply principles taught and reinforced at TLU in real-world rural courtrooms where jurors value responsibility, personal accountability, and common sense.

We will cover:

• Reframing “conservative venue” assumptions into strategic advantages
• Identifying and amplifying the moral rule that was broken
• Voir dire in rural counties: connections over ideology
• Simplifying liability so jurors feel confident, not overwhelmed
• Presenting damages in a way that feels earned, not exaggerated
• Neutralizing defense themes of “minor impact,” “soft tissue,” or “overlawyering”
• Using cross-examination to establish bias of the defense expert
• Avoiding the overcomplication trap that kills rural verdicts and overcoming judicial biases

We will also candidly discuss mistakes, risks, and tactical decisions made along the way, including what almost went wrong.

Attendees will leave with a practical blueprint for trying cases in conservative venues without shrinking their case value and without apologizing for their client’s harm.

If you try cases outside major metropolitan areas and want jurors in rural counties leaning forward instead of leaning back, this session is for you.