Benjamin P. Cloward

Hour 1: Negligent Security From The 30,000 Ft. Level
A. Crossover between premises liability and negligent security, and general legal theories
B. Screening/weeding out problematic cases (or claims) before it’s too late
C. Institutional vs. single property owner property scenarios, and key insights regarding each
D. Critical premises liability legal rules and concepts and how to use to your advantage
E. Insurance: what to watch out for and avoiding pitfalls

Hour 2: Fundamental Pre-Suit Investigation And Framing The Complaint
A. Mining for gold: obtaining crime statistics/other critical data regarding the property
B. Developing relationships with the police and governmental agencies and establishing early rapport with lay witnesses
C. Knowing your clients’ story: the good, the bad, and the ugly
D. Preparing a detailed complaint with examples of similar prior instances to avoid early dispositive motions
E. Naming/omitting potential defendants, and pleading punitive damages

Hour 3: Developing Meaningful Written Discovery/Subpoenas And Retaining The Right Experts
A. Critical steps leading up to the Rule 26 Conference and demonstrating intentional/targeted pre-discovery/NRCP 16.1 (or equivalent) requests
B. Targeted discovery for both prior and subsequent incidents, whether “similar” or not (“broken windows” theory), and seeking appropriate “institutional” discovery
C. Seeking information demonstrating lack of expenditures/training on safety/security vs. increased expenditures/training on property marketing, product placement, etc.
D. Timing/retention of security standards, property management, and appropriate damages experts and how to utilize them to define and bolster your case
E. Using experts effectively for developing your theories, and areas to exploit with respect to the defense experts.

Hour 4: The Importance of Lay Witness and 30(b)(6) depositions
A. How to best determine the timing and sequence of your depositions
B. Making police officers your best witnesses and potentially naming them as “non-retained experts”
C. Using employee testimony to maximize the effectiveness of your 30(b)(6) depositions
D. How to lay proper groundwork for an impactful 30(b)(6) deposition
E. Tips to keep the properties honest about prior incidents
F. Examples of effective testimony and how to get big admissions and concessions

Hour 5: Big Data and Preparing for Trial
A. What am I looking for? Big Data based on the type of case, key liability and damages issues, likelihood of punitive damages and development of meaningful themes
B. The importance of focus groups to get your story right and minimize bad facts
C. How and when to use juror questionnaires to get the most out of your Big Data
D. Developing themes for trial that connect and motivate jurors
E. How to use motions in limine to “quiet the noise” and focus the facts

Hour 6: Trying the multi-million-dollar premises liability case
A. Effective voir dire on tough liability/high damage cases
B. Preparing and ordering your witnesses – the importance of telling the story in the right way
C. Using your experts to educate jurors on key issues
D. How to use Big Data and prior incidents in trial to maximize impact
E. Using simple ways to effectively cross-examine experts on complicated topics
F. Tips for presenting high dollar damages without “sticker shock”