This involved a major rear-end collision, which ultimately resulted in a 1-level cervical disc replacement procedure four years later. During litigation, State Farm rejected a $50,000 policy limit demand, taking the position that Plaintiff's "related" treatment ended a few months after the crash when Plaintiff’s bills were around $9,000. State Farm then hired a defense expert who made the same claim. State Farm's first offer in the case came just three weeks before trial, for $550,000, which was rejected. After an 8-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of $2.8M.

The defense denied liability until the day of trial. At trial, the defense focused on a prior collision 18 months before, on two 1-year+ “gaps” in Plaintiff’s treatment, and problematic social media posts. None of these defenses were credible when considered in a fair light.

Kimball and Mark will discuss:

Knowing when to go all-in on your case, even when you have a chance to settle.

Strategic presentation of evidence – order and contrast matter.

Punishing defense mistakes when they cross-examine your witnesses.

Winning your case through cross-examination of defense witnesses.

Leaving no room for doubt in closing, even when you don’t have a great jury.

Kimball Jones

Mark Rouse

Dan Ambrose

$2.8M Verdict After State Farm Rejects A $50k Offer To Settle

Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert

Growing and Scaling your Law Firm – Hiring Key People/Building a Leadership Team 

Giorgio Panagos

Raj Guha

TLU Skills Bootcamp

Darryl Isaacs

Andrew Finkelstein

Building Your Billion Dollar Empire

William Barton

David Clark

Dark Art Trial Craft

David deRubertis

deRubertis Employment College

Dale Gaplipo

Working Up A Civil Rights Case Before Trial

Phillip Miller

Edward Ciarimboli

Thomas Vesper

Advanced Deposition Strategy and Practice

Brian Breiter

Joseph Limbaugh

Improv for Trial

Cliff Atkinson

Visual Advocacy/PowerPoint Mastery Bootcamp

Bruce Schechter

Khail Parris

Translating An Effective Deposition Into A Killer Cross

Depositions Are Trial - Taking Effective Depositions To Win Your Case Before Ever Seeing A Jury

Jason Fowler

Daniel Eli

Understanding Bad Faith and Breaches of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

R. Rex Parris

Being An Effective Closer - Justifying A Big Verdict To Twelve Friends (Closings)

Bankruptcy Hour - What To Do When The Carrier Screws The Insured By Convincing Them To Declare Bankruptcy

What To Do When An Insurance Carrier Denies Coverage, Coverage Denial May Not Be The End, But Rather An Opportunity

Alex Wheeler

Becoming a Master Trial Lawyer

The Business Mechanics of Litigating Cases: The Real Reason Cases are being under settled

Daniel Kramer

Clash Of The Titans

Tricia Bigelow

Monique Ngo-Bonnici

Kitty K. Szeto

Eve and Adam: Finding the Serpents and the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree in the Legal Profession

Justin Kahn

Visualizing The Case - Start thinking and presenting visually

Judicial Hour

The Perfect Opening

Recent Research In The Art Of Persuasion

Preparing Your Client To Face Their Fears In Order To Testify Effectively

The Art Of Picking A Jury Vol 2

The Art of Picking A Jury Vol 1

Adam Malone

3 Essential Skills for Winning Medical Negligence Cases

Brett Schreiber

Dangerous Property Cases From Inception to Verdict

Keith More

Workers Comp Crossover Cases: How to spot them, overcome Privette, and eliminate liens in your PI case

How To Win a Civil Rights Case At Trial

Bring Your File

Bibi Fell

Workshop Your Upcoming Case – Brainstorming Frames, Themes, Visuals & Voir Dire Questions

Get Up and Present

Brent Savage

Finding Your Damages Case

Christian Morris

The Science and Technique of Cross Examination

Jack Denove

Effective Non-Verbal Communication

Taking the Winning Deposition from the Defendant Doctor

Preparing Your Client for Deposition

Kurt Zaner

Openings according to Cicero, 2000 year-old techniques applied today

Premises

Wordless Persuasion: The Neuroscience-Based Skills that Provide the Key to Connection with Jurors.

Defense Tactics Used to Stop Nuclear Verdicts

Adante Pointer

Stephen King

Mastering Storytelling in Personal Injury and Civil Rights Cases

Negotiating with Emotional Intelligence

Steve Linder

Kurt Kerns

Science of Persuasion

Lloyd Bell

Laura Shamp

Winning Before Trial - Building Your Medical Malpractice Case For Success in the Courtroom

How fun, persuasive writing can lead to eight figure verdicts and settlements

Rahul Ravipudi

Fine Tune Your Jury Deselection Strategy

Greg Bentley

Clare Lucich

Dangerous Condition Cases

How to use dramatic/theatrical techniques in opening and closing

Jonathan Michaels

Cross Examination of the Accident Reconstruction Expert

Voir Dire Skills Training: Bring Your Case!

Brian Panish

Preparing For Final Argument

Opening and Closing

Understanding and Influencing the 84 Jurors

Rob Ammons

Win Your Case Before Trial and How to Try it if They Let You

Nate Bjerke

Witness Prep

Haytham Faraj

Katherine Melik-Stepanyan

Preparing The Winning Case From Intake To Verdict

Michael Blom

Brett Findler

Mass Torts and Tax Credits; Non-Recourse Litigation and Medical Care Funding

Joe Fried

Sach Oliver

Negotiation Mastery

How to effectively use visuals at deposition and trial

Greyson Goody

Edwin Hong

A.I. 101: The Automation and Transformation of Law

Dirk Vandever

Dirk's Dozen Voir Dire Questions

Joseph Fried

Winning Trucking Cases: How to prepare for and take key depositions in trucking cases

Rex has achieved outstanding results in the courtroom over the span of his career – he obtained the first million-dollar verdict in California’s Kern County as a young lawyer and, years later, obtained an historic, record-breaking defamation jury verdict in Los Angeles for $370,000,000. In between, Rex has obtained dozens of seven-, eight- and nine-figure verdicts and settlements. His success is hardly happenstance – Rex prepares every case, for trial using the latest science in persuasion skills. Everything from metaphoric choices, word selection and visuals are tested and re-tested before each trial. In addition to managing his trial calendar and the Firm’s diversified practice, Rex also manages one of California’s fastest-growing cities. As the mayor of Lancaster since 2008, Rex has gained nationwide media attention for his efforts to improve the wellbeing of the city’s residents. For example, gang violence dropped 82%, the city’s downtown area was completely redeveloped during the worst economic downturn in over 75 years, and all of the city’s municipal buildings were converted to solar power. Rex and his wife, Carrol, founded the Firm in 1985 with the goal of building a truly great law firm. That goal has never changed – they continue to innovate and work tirelessly to improve the service and results they provide daily.

I was born in the great city that no one has ever heard of, Lancaster, California. Growing up, I watched my parents work to grow their firm from a single office cubicle to the large firm that it is today and realized that I did not want to work that hard. I went to college thinking that I wanted to own a restaurant one day, only to realize restaurant owners work harder than lawyers, with smaller profit margins. So, I decided to work for my father as his tech guy/unofficial associate. I summarized his depositions, prepped his mind maps, and built his closings. After doing several trials with him, I finally realized that helping people in their darkest times alongside my father wasn’t the hard work that I once envisioned, so I decided to go to law school. Several years later my father asked me to go golfing with a Bruce Schechter, to which I begrudgingly agreed. Three holes and a couple of tequila shots later, we became fast lifelong friends. Ever since, I have been trying cases alongside my dad and Bruce. When I am not working with those two, I am wrestling with my two french bulldogs, Beau and Bleu, or cooking for my lovely wife Bre.

Alex joined the Parris Law Firm two years out of law school in 2007 and he was made partner at the firm in 2012. Alex has a diverse practice, including Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, Insurance Bad Faith, and Class Action litigation. Alex has been a Southern California Super Lawyer since 2019 and was a “Rising Star” from 2012 to 2018. Alex has achieved seven- and eight-figure jury trial verdicts. Courts all over the country have appointed Alex as Lead Class Counsel in class action cases. All told, Alex has obtained over $500 million in verdicts and settlements for PARRIS clients. Alex speaks frequently to large groups of lawyers at Continuing Legal Education seminars throughout the country. He speaks on taking effective and trial-focused depositions, all aspects of trial practice and – using and applying what he has learned from firm founder R. Rex Parris – applying cognitive science to the creative practice of law. Alex is on the Board of Advisors at Pepperdine University School of Law and was a faculty member at the Law School, where he taught “Advanced Trial Practice.”

I was born in Orange County California. When I was 4 years old my family moved to Bothell, Washington (a town 25 minutes North of Seattle) and that is where I remained until I left for college. During high school I played sports and worked for a furniture company assembling and delivering furniture. I attended a small private college in Santa Barbara called Westmont College. I graduated with a degree in Biology, and in between studying I focused on learning how to surf. After graduation I lived near the beach in Carpinteria, and I worked in Research and Development for a medical device company. I eventually transitioned to working in sales when I moved to Connecticut. In Connecticut I worked as medical sales rep and worked on my golf game while my wife attended graduate school. Eventually, I realized my calling and attended Pepperdine Law School where, upon graduation, I was hired by the Parris Law Firm. I have been at the Parris Law Firm ever since. I have been married for 23 years and have 3 kids (16, 14, 11). I enjoy going to the beach with the family, surfing, and water skiing. As the kids are getting older I am hoping to start golfing with them.

I was born in the suburbs of Orange County. I grew up playing hockey with the support of my mom, who raised myself and my two younger brothers on her own. Initially, I wanted to be a doctor. I enrolled in a pre-med program, got my EMT license, and started working in an emergency room as an ER tech. A few truly depressing emergency room stories later, I decided to try something a little different, and decided on law school. I got hired at Parris Law Firm once I graduated, and wound up in their class action department, fighting on behalf of aggrieved employees. A little later, I was recruited onto Bruce and Khail’s trial team, with all the long but rewarding hours that has brought with it. When I am not working, I enjoy all the time I can with my beautiful fiancée Margot and our shelter gremlin of pup, Milo.

Eric Wilson

I was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. My family immigrated to Los Angeles (the San Fernando Valley) when I was 10 years old. I lived in Phoenix while getting my undergrad degree at Arizona State University (go Devils), and returned to Los Angeles to attend Law School at Loyola. After law school I was hired by a Los Angeles firm that primarily represented insurers in insurance coverage/bad faith matters. I was introduced to the Parris Law Firm at a mediation, and after 17 years of practice for the defense decided to make the move to representing plaintiffs. I have been at the Parris Law Firm ever since. I am married and have 3 kids (18, 15, 12). When I’m not working or driving my kids around, I enjoy travelling with the family, going to rock concerts with friends and riding rollercoasters with my son. At last count, I’ve seen over 100 concerts and ridden over 50 different rollercoasters all over the United States.

Dan Eli

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. My father was a lawyer, and my brothers are all lawyers. Growing up, I sold programs at Dodger Stadium and I had a paper route. I attended St. John Bosco High School and Fresno State University, playing football at both. I returned to Los Angeles following graduation where I taught and coached football at my high school alma mater. Still coaching football my first semester, I began attending Southwestern Law School. During law school, I worked at the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and conducted almost 100 preliminary hearings. I tried my first jury trial in my first month as a lawyer when I was an insurance defense lawyer. During that time, I tried many defense cases and gained great experience. I later joined a top plaintiff firm where I rose to the rank of partner and stayed 17 years. In 2005, I formed Panish Shea & Boyle LLP in Los Angeles. The firm has grown to include offices in California and Nevada and is now known as Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP. I am the current President of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates and I have been in more than 150 jury trials in my career. I enjoy fishing, working out, and attending sporting events including as many Fresno State football games as possible. I recently passed the bar in Nevada with my youngest daughter.

I grew up in Birmingham, MI. I am the youngest of eight children and attended an all-boys catholic school my whole life until I went to college at the University of Michigan. I went to night school at Detroit College of Law. My dad, my uncle, two of my brothers, and sister were lawyers. My first job was cutting lawns at age 10. I started working for my brother as a house painter at age 12. When I was 16 I started my own painting business and continued throughout high school, college, and law school, and a few years after until I was 32. I practiced criminal defense for eighteen years in Michigan until ten years ago when my roommate from the Trial Lawyers College, Nick Rowley, encouraged me to move to LA to become a PI lawyer. The California Bar took me four tries. I moved to Las Vegas this past March. I have recently taken up pickle ball, skiing and golf. I also think I'm competitive at connect four, backgammon, chess, and ping pong.

I was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, and moved to Boise, Idaho when I was three years old. I lived in Boise until the end of third grade. I then moved to Las Vegas. I attended 8 different schools from 1st-12th grade. I played junior college baseball in California. I finished my bachelor's degree at UNLV. Just before I graduated, I married my high school sweetheart, Lou, and we have been happily married for 22 years. I attended UNLV Boyd School of Law and graduated in 2003. I started my own law firm, Sean K. Claggett & Associates, on January 1, 2005, with a single employee. My firm has changed names two times, the first was Claggett, Hays & Sykes and the second and final change was to its current name, Claggett & Sykes. Today our firm has over 55 employees which includes 22 lawyers. I love baseball and golf, and as I write this bio I am at St. Andrews enjoying day 1 of the 150th Open.

Sean Claggett

I was born in San Diego, California. I was the 4th of 5 kids and the first son. My Dad was a doctor but as a young man he was part of the fight for the establishment of Israel and it was always his dream to live there. My family emigrated to Israel when I was 5 years old. We lived there through the 1973 war after which we moved back to the United States – first to New York and then to Atlanta. After losing several friends in high school to DUI related crashes, I became a police officer. I investigated many crashes and testified in court a fair amount. I saw first-hand the difference that a good lawyer can make. I attended the University of Georgia School of Law, followed by a federal court clerkship and then entered private practice. I was appointed to serve part-time as a magistrate judge, while working full-time as a trial lawyer.

Unlike lawyers who do lots of things at the same time, I have always specialized. I spent the first few years of my practice handling mostly birth trauma cases. I then happened into a case where a woman burned alive following a survivable rear impact crash. This led to me specializing this unique aspect of automotive product liability for about 10 years. I told Ford that I would stop suing them if the fixed the problem with the Mustang and while it took a while they finally did. After some soul searching, I decided to focus on truck crash cases. At the time, lawyers focusing on truck crash cases was not a thing. I have done my part over the last 18 years to make it a thing. I have spent countless hours developing best practices for handling these cases.

Knowing that I could only handle a small number of cases and wanting to have a big impact on highway safety, I set out to train lawyers all over the country on how to best handle truck crash cases. I have served in leadership of just about every organization in the Country for lawyers who handle truck crash cases. I am Co-founder of the Academy of Truck Accident Lawyers and the National Board of Truck Crash Lawyers (an NBTA sub-board responsible for Truck Crash Law obtaining ABA recognition as a legal specialty). Most recently I authored “A Law Enforcement Guide to Truck Driving Safety Standards” and I have worked hard to be the best human being I can be, the best husband and father I can be, and the best lawyer I can be. It is a work in progress. At this point in my life, I am trying to pay things forward. Closing in on 1000 days without missing on the Peleton!

With more than 25 years of legal experience, Lloyd Bell has built a sterling courtroom record and recovered millions of dollars for medical malpractice victims. A veteran of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Bell founded his own law firm in 1999 and is consistently recognized as one of the top attorneys in his field. In 2018, Bell Law Firm was recognized as Personal Injury Litigation Team of the Year by Daily Report, the leading source of legal news in Atlanta. Lloyd Bell has been included in Atlanta Magazine’s prestigious Super Lawyers list every year since 2005, and more recently the Super Lawyers “Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia” list in 2018. Bell has also been named as one of the few personal injury lawyers in Georgia on the prestigious list of “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine, an honor he has received every year since 2015. In 2019 Bell was named as the second ever Georgia attorney to join the 

, an elite, invitation only group of the nation’s top plaintiff lawyers. His firm differentiates itself with deep legal expertise, a mastery of technology in the courtroom, and compelling storytelling. Over the past five years, Bell won more seven- and eight-figure verdicts for his clients in medical malpractice cases than any other attorney in the state of Georgia, including a $15 million verdict against a large Atlanta hospital group in 2016 and a record-breaking $26 million verdict against a Columbus hospital in 2017. Bell is a member of the Melvin M. Belli Society, a group of distinguished trial lawyers dedicated to the principles of education. Bell is also board certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in the field of medical malpractice.

When I was fifteen, I met the love of my life. As most high school romances go, we dated, broke up, dated again, broke up again etc. Then at 20 the love of life moved to Florida. I thought we were just on a break. She didn’t. She got married and had three kids. I was very single. We didn’t see or talk for twelve years. She got divorced. I had never dated anyone with children. And then she googled me and we started talking. She came back home for a family wedding, and we decided to meet for coffee. That was seventeen years ago. I was lucky to get a do over with the one true love of my life and I was going to make damn sure that I didn’t lose her again. With the addition of our daughter, we now have four beautiful children that are as close as close can be, a grandson who lights up all of our lives, two dogs, two cats and some wild animals on our farm in Northeast Pennsylvania. 

Our big Italian family loves, laughs, yells, cries, eats and drinks with more passion than words can describe. They are the people that allow me to live this crazy and amazing life of being a trial lawyer and I am forever grateful. So how did I become a trial lawyer? That story is almost as good as my marriage.

I went to college to play basketball, at 5’10” I was obviously a point guard and become an engineer. I got hurt, stopped playing basketball and started bartending where I would meet my law partner. It was the early 90’s and Cocktail was all the rage and yes, we could do all the bar tricks that Tom Cruise made famous. Being a bartender without a doubt was one of the best and wildest times in my life. To this day we still have people that remember us from Market Street Station Square. As for being an engineer, I did an internship at an engineering firm and decided that I could never be an engineer. Around this time, I met a Judge through a local charity organization that I was involved in and worked at the local courthouse for the summer. I saw two trials, one criminal and one civil and I was hooked. I loved every minute of being in trial and decided that I would go to law school. For the next two years I went to school around the clock and graduated with a degree in Engineering and Political Science and a minor in Physics. I went to law school thinking I would go into intellectual property law. Boy was I wrong. 

By year two of law school I realized that I hated intellectual property law. I was fortunate enough to have an amazing trial advocacy teacher and competed in moot court which was the moment that I knew I wanted to be trial lawyer. After three years with a local personal injury firm my partner and I decided to open our practice. Talk about humble beginnings, we had a part time assistant who called off more than she worked and a bookkeeper that enjoyed two martini lunches and would shove our bills in a draw, one of which I just found the other day. Somehow we managed to grow our firm into four offices, Philadelphia, Scranton, Kingston and Honesdale and we get to work with fourteen other talented lawyers that are like family to us. I am board certified in Tractor Trailer Accidents, am passionate about teaching and travel all over the country teaching lawyers deposition and trial skills and for some reason have a lot of zero offer cases which I am sure no one else can relate to. I love a good cigar and great bourbon. I make some pretty good wine with a great group of guys and every now and then enjoy an all night poker game. For me the law has allowed a dirt poor kid from a coal mining town in Northeast Pennsylvania to not only travel the world but to represent some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. 

After more than 30 years of defense litigation success, Bruce Schechter joined the PARRIS Law Firm and has been working there as a plaintiff’s attorney for over seven years now. He has experience in handling cases ranging from wrongful death suits to product liability and personal injury claims. Bruce specializes in catastrophic injuries and has handled over 40 cases involving claims of CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). Now, Bruce uses his defense industry experience to advocate for those on the other side who have lost a family member, or who are suffering from catastrophic injury cases. Bruce in his career has tried more than 250 Jury trials, taken more than 5,000 depositions, 2500 of which have been expert depositions. In 2018, he represented two brothers who were severely injured in a head-on collision with a semi-truck driver for trucking giant CRST. The team secured a massive $54 million verdict. Bruce is a successful plaintiff’s attorney, and is a member of the California Bar as well as the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has spoken at many different engagements on a wide range of topics including “Winning at Trial,” “Choosing the Correct Experts when Litigating Catastrophic Injuries,” “Choosing a Jury in Brain Injury Cases,” and many more. He has also shared his knowledge as an adjunct professor of law at Chapman Law School. He has been on the Best Lawyers Super Lawyers list since 2009 and has an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest that can be achieved. He and his wife are passionate about charitable causes such as JDRF, a juvenile diabetes research foundation, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Brian Breiter is a Miami Beach native who now lives in Los Angeles. Brian is the 4th of five kids and was practically raised on stage acting because his oldest sister was a drama teacher. He took this love of theater and acting and developed those skills over the years, particularly improvisation, and has incorporated them into every aspect of his law practice. Brian is also a die hard water polo player and has been playing competitively around the world with leagues and clubs since 1984. Brian is married to his beautiful wife Nonny and has two kids in college. Brian loves teaching other lawyers how to become better story tellers and communicators and would love to do a scene with you at TLU!

Its hard to write a paragraph that defines who you are.

Who am I? Do we define ourselves? Or do others define us? Or do our actions define us? Identity is challenging. Am I defined by my journey as a Trial Lawyer who wages epic battles with evil corporations and insurance companies? Am I defined by my 7 and 8 figure verdicts? Am I defined by the confidential settlements I can't talk about? Or am I defined by the $50,000 settlements that change my client's lives? Money is not success. But money is success. Am I defined by my childhood? Growing up in South Florida, always wanting to be an actor, a trial lawyer, or a president of something? Does serving as high school student body president make a doosh? I failed (quit) my movie star pursuit in Hollywood, does that boost my cred or detract from it? Am I defined by family?

My three young boys (1,4,6) mean more to me than any case and I would quit practicing law tomorrow if it was somehow necessary to help my kids. There isn't much I wouldn't do for them. I wish I had more hours in the day to spend with them. And yet, when I look at them, I think of my toxic tort client who was diagnosed with Leukemia at 18, has lost one leg and likely another because of a company's toxic emissions, and I imagine if this happened to one of my children. Or am I defined by my pursuit of Karate and mastery of the bow and spear so that one day I may fight like the Viper of Dorne? I want to be the Champion of those who cannot fight for themselves. Who is John Galt?

Born and raised in Hawaii, Bibi Fell still has a hint of the Islands in her smile. Welcoming for jurors, it often causes her to be underestimated by opposing counsel, much to their peril. She started her own law firm despite a series of personal challenges over the last 2 years, including a cancer diagnosis in her 4-year-old daughter. With her daughter now cancer-free, she is back to the courtroom and sharing her skills with others. Bibi combines an ability to craft a persuasive argument with incredible trial preparation. She is a master storyteller who uses visuals to drive the story. She loves spending time with all of her girls and the doctor who helped saved the life of her youngest daughter.

I was born in Atlanta, GA and still a die-hard Braves, Hawks, and Falcons fan as a result. Grew up in Los Gatos, CA, played football and basketball in high school. Went to college at CU Boulder (go Buffs). My grandfather, a WWII paratrooper in the Battle of the Bulge who went to law school on the GI bill and practiced in Durham, NC, introduced me to war stories of the battlefield and courtroom at a very young age, and when I quickly realized sport wasn’t taking me anywhere I knew I wanted to be a trial lawyer. I currently live in LA with my wife Jennifer and our two young children.

I was raised in rural Maine back when it was just an unorganized territory, and my family were the only year-round residents brave or crazy enough to live on Spring Pond Mountain in the winter. We had no electricity and no running water. We lived in an old farmhouse an elderly couple owned and let us live in for free if we worked the land; and work it we did. We had 4 acres of gardens with every vegetable you can imagine. We had blueberry bushes, blackberry patches, raspberries, strawberries, and an apple orchard. We kept chickens for eggs, goats for milk, horses to plow and harrow the fields, and dogs to protect the gardens and the animals from the deer and coyote. One year we even had a pig—what luck! I loved those dogs. One year, our Samoyed Husky named Able saved my life. I was in the apple orchard with my sister, and we got caught between a mama bear and her cub. The mama bear came out of the woods on one side of the tree and the cub came out on the other side. Mama bear charged at us, and we climbed up an apple tree. Naturally, the bear climbed right up after us. Able was at the bottom of the tree biting as hard as she could at the bear’s legs, until the bear got so mad she chased Able into the woods. We ran home safe and sound. Able came back later that night.

I was one of four girls. My father really wanted sons, but all he got was girls. All the same, he raised us like we were sons. He taught us to never show struggle on your face no matter how heavy the weight of the burden. He taught us to haul hay, split wood, and clean out an outhouse. He even gave me the name he had picked out for the son I was supposed to be: Christian Milton Morris. Having a man’s name helped in my early years of practice where all my mail came in for “Mr. Morris” and I felt like I got more respect. It has also hurt me at times as we are all sitting around waiting for Mr. Morris, but I was already in the room. The one thing I know about myself is that when I feel injustice has occurred, I am like Able biting on that bear’s leg and not letting go. I love being a trial lawyer because I love changing the course of someone’s life because I know how to help. I love it even more now that I have children and I want to do everything I can to make this planet safer and better for them when I am gone

I am a partner at Panish | Shea | Boyle | Ravipudi LLP, an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, and the father of three boys – 16, 13, and 10. I am so lucky to be married to Smitha who is an amazing mother and the CEO of USC Care Medical Group, the physician group of Keck Medicine of USC. My wife understands and appreciates my passion for teaching so much so that she was cool when I worked to schedule PSBR Trial College at the time that best worked for everyone – despite it starting the day after my 20 year wedding anniversary! I made the mistake a while back of asking Smitha what my top five qualities were that made her want to marry me. Much to my surprise and disappointment, my sense of humor did not make the list! She is right, I am not funny, but that doesn’t stop me from trying. I love the Buffalo Bills, “Dad Jokes”, and taking selfies (especially with my Snapchat filters).

Some may say they were born to be a trial lawyer. In my case I was born 

 of a trial. My dad was a public defender and was trying a capital murder case. Half way through the trial a new attractive young blonde court reporter took over the proceedings. My dad and the prosecutor made a bet on who could be the first to get a date with the new reporter. My dad won. And because of that bet you’re reading this bio. Growing up, talking about my dad’s latest murder trial was common conversation at the Case de Schreiber dinner table. It was ingrained in me early on that killing people to teach people that killing was wrong didn’t work. I also saw firsthand how the quality of the lawyer representing someone could have profound impact on the outcome of their case and by extension the outcome of their lives. When I was in first grade my mom suffered a massive brain aneurysm. She was never the same person but that didn’t keep us from continuing to have a fulfilling and loving relationship to this day. It’s not better or worse. Just 

. Looking back I believe those experiences have been the North Stars guiding my career as a trial lawyer. What we do has the power to restore and to change the trajectory of someone’s life. But I think the greatest gift we often give our clients is our empathy. Our ability to understand and be present for them. I strive to do that – not always successfully – every day.

I was born and raised in Pasadena, California. I graduated from USC business school in 1992 and from Whittier Law School, summa cum laude, in 1995. I joined a mid-size business litigation firm headquartered in Orange County in 1995 and became a partner in 2001. When I joined the firm, I started developing a practice area in the automotive space. I had grown up around cars and recognized that the automotive space was underserved by professionals who understood the industry. In 2006, as an adjunct to the law practice, I opened a high-end collector car dealership in Orange County. For the first 20 years, most of my legal focus was representing car dealers against automotive manufacturers in large franchise disputes. However, in the mid-2010s, I narrowed my focus to representing consumers who had suffered catastrophic injuries from an automotive defect. I have now litigated cases against nearly every major automotive manufacturer in the world, including GM, Audi, Maserati, Mitsubishi, FCA, Kia, Nissan, Honda, AM General, Isuzu, Toyota, Hyundai, Harley-Davidson, Ford, Acura, Tesla, Volvo, Volkswagen, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Porsche.

I live in Louisville, Kentucky, and you might know me as “The Hammer” if you’ve seen any of my commercials. I went to the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. I started my PI firm with my father Sheldon in the early 1990s, and I’m proud to say it has grown both in size and success. We have had over 80 cases with $1 million or more in settlements and verdicts, including a $10 million verdict in federal court and over $2 billion in total recovery. I truly learned what my clients go through back in 2015, when I was hit by a car and left with a broken neck, a TBI, and a long road to recovery. Experiencing that gave me a greater understanding and compassion for their situations and a drive to help as many injured and struggling people as I can. I am also passionate about sharing and growth for other attorneys, which is why I started the yearly Brain Trust Legal Group Summit to help attorneys grow their firms. The 2023 Summit in Nashville will focus on How to Build a Billion-Dollar Law Firm, and tickets are available at 

. The Brain Trust Legal Group also runs four Mastermind groups where I work with 55 law firms from all over the country, and we have a Billion-Dollar Coaching program to help attorneys with growth training and accountability.

was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY, and am the eldest of three daughters. My father was an entrepreneur, and I started working at the age of 14. I continued working all through my college and law school years. I pursued my undergraduate degree in Business Management, specializing in Finance and Marketing, from Marist College. During my college days, I was involved in a serious car accident, followed by some legal issues, which triggered my interest in pursuing a law degree. I was seriously injured and had a six month recovery to my own car accident. A few years later my high school sweetheart died in a motorcycle accident. Going through so many challenges made me grow up at a very young age. I felt so frustrated by my lack of knowledge around the legal issues I was dealing with that I felt helpless. Consequently, I moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and enrolled in Atlanta's John Marshall Law School at night while working as a Personal Injury Paralegal during the day.

During law school, I participated actively. After receiving my law degree and bar license, I opened my law firm. Over the past decade, I have grown my firm and have expanded it to include more than 35 people and 5 lawyers. I have developed mentors around the country that have helped me grow and scale my firm. I study the best of the best and take best practices and implement in my firm. Our firm has been recognized with numerous awards, including ranking on the Inc 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in the US, with only 10 Women-Owned Companies making the cut. I have worked in some leadership roles including the President of the Atlanta’s John Marshall Alumni Association, President Elect of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers Foundation, and Member of The Georgia Trial Law Lawyers and a variety of others.

Personally, I am married and have three children. In my free time, I love my hobbies, which include spending time with my family, studying business, listening to podcasts, traveling, and keeping fit. I am a life long learner and committed to continued pursuit of growth.

John was born in Framingham, Massachusetts. His family moved to Florida when he was five years old. He was raised and schooled in West Palm Beach, Florida. While in high school he was the drummer in a rock band while being very active in sports having been named to two high school All America football teams as a running back. John then signed a football scholarship to play for Florida State University which was followed by law school and then active duty in the US Marine Corps, where he served as a Captain in the JAG Corps. 

John and his wife, Nancy, have been married for 53 years and have four sons, each of whom played college football for Florida State University, University of Iowa, Kansas State University and Clemson University. Their family also includes four daughters-in-law and eleven grandchildren. John has handled virtually every type of tort and criminal case including those involving wrongful death, product liability, medical malpractice, murder, armed robbery, negligent security, trucking and auto, dramshop litigation, defamation of character, fraud and more. John is a former president of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (now called FJA), the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and the National Trial Lawyers. John loves traveling with his wife, Nancy, his family and friends. When time allows he loves watching good movies, good series, snow skiing, college football, Olympic Sports, and being with others.

John Romano

I’m one of four children born to a football coach and a school teacher. I grew up in Big Rapids, Michigan and had one goal- play professional football for the Green Bay Packers.My parents moved us to Kansas my freshman year of high school. Upon graduating I took a track scholarship to the University of Florida. After a year I transferred to The University of Kansas where I played on the worst football team in division one. I made Sports Illustrated magazine with my picture and the headline, “How Many Jayhawks Does It Take To Make A Tackle?” Dreams of going pro were dashed so I talked with Dad who suggested going to a law school “as lawyers compete every day and there are winners and losers in every case.” Later I read “Gunning for Justice” by Gerry Spence and it inspired me to become a criminal defense lawyer. I have been gunning for justice since 1991.

From humble beginnings to Noble Crusader… I grew in the biggest little city in the world, Reno, Nevada. My father was a carpenter, and my mother worked various job, including a tour guide and telephone operator. We had a large family of 8 children, who were in and out of a house that was just a little over 1,400 square feet. My parents loved each-other, and most importantly loved their children. I am second to the youngest. I am the first to graduate college in my entire family, and the first and only lawyer. I was an athlete in school, and most concerned with popularity as this was of the utmost importance to me growing up as it ensured lots of friends and girlfriends. I prayed near nightly to be the most popular, the toughest and the best looking from middle school through high school.

When I finished high school, I knew nothing. I barely received a good enough score on the SAT to attend the local university. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, because cops couldn’t mess with me, and I believed they made a lot money. The university was difficult, in the beginning, because my academic skills were very lackluster. I remember when a professor gave the class a five-page paper assignment to be turned in. It took days to get it done, I was so far behind. Notwithstanding, I put my nose the grindstone, dedicated myself to school, and excelled. I put partying on the back burner, and school first.

After undergrad, I had a high stakes experience with the Justice system. Out one night after the final semester of undergrad, my friend and I met two dancers at a local watering hole. We had a great time. We decided we would meet up the following night at the Dancers’ place of work, “Wild Orchid Gentleman’s Club”. We showed up with some other friends to take the Dancers out of the club. One of the bouncers had a crush on the Dancers. He was not happy we were leaving with the dancers. Needless to say a fight ensued, and one of the bouncers suffered an orbital lobe fracture to his eye---that ultimately required surgery. I did not do it! Nevertheless, I was one of the only names the police had, and I was ultimately prosecuted. It was a tough time, and extremely stressful. 

At the time, I needed to apply for law school. While applying I had to be very careful when answering the questions asked on the law school application concerning criminal history. Fortunately, UNLV’s law school did not have a question about pending criminal matters, and only asked about prior convictions. I was able to truthfully answer the application and was ultimately accepted into UNLV’s Law School. After my first semester I had to return to Reno to sit as a defendant in a criminal felony jury trial. I was acquitted—NOT GUILTY! Thank God! The justice system worked and works.

After law school, I decided that I wanted to be a movie star. I moved to New York City, to study acting, but quickly found out I did not want to be a struggling actor. I still studied acting at the Lee Strausberg Institute, Stella Adler School of Acting, and HB Studios for years. I found a lawyer job on Craigslist, and I worked for the same firm for the next 10 years. Handling all different types of criminal matters in the Russian enclave of Brooklyn, known as Brighton Beach. While in New York, I fell in love with Yoga and spirituality, which at the time was where I put all my energy and focus. My guru initiated me as “Yogi Ram”. Back then, I considered being a lawyer, just a job. When my daughter’s mother became pregnant in 2013, I knew I needed to head home and devote myself to being a lawyer. 

After 10 years in New York City, in 2014, I moved to Las Vegas to dedicate myself to this wonderful profession and opened my own practice. I love being a lawyer! I love studying trial skills, and I love to improve. Thank you, Dan Ambrose, for making me the best lawyer I can be. Being a trial lawyer is the type of work where you can continuously get better, as well as change and save people’s lives. It is not a static profession. I love going to trial, I love winning, and I love to beat the government and any other entity that has more resources and power than my client. I still love my spiritual practice and yoga. Stretching and hand balancing, is what I do for exercise—it feels amazing and gets me high. Notwithstanding, the majority of my focus is now my work, my kids and of course- my wife. I have an amazing family consisting of my daughter Isabella, my son Tiger and my beautiful partner in life and wife, Anne Wooldridge. I also enjoy smoking pot when the work is done. ;-)


Learn more about Nicholas Wooldridge by visiting 

Nicholas Wooldridge

I am a native of Monrovia, Liberia where my Grand Uncle was the president. During his presidency there was a lot of civil unrest which ultimately resulted in a coup d’etat in the early 80’s requiring my family to flee to America. We migrated to Los Angeles, California which has been my home since. I went to UCLA for undergrad where I ran the hurdles, then taught elementary school for a few years prior to attending law school part time. I started my legal career practicing criminal law, then civil rights and now personal injury. I teach at the Gerry Spence Method at Thunderhead Ranch program in Wyoming. I have recently taken up surfing which is even harder than I imagined it would be.

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area to an Armenian mother and Greek father. I attended Berkeley High School, University of California, Riverside and Golden Gate University, School of Law. While in law school, I worked at my father’s chocolate shop in Palo Alto giving tasting tours and teaching customers about the history and production of the world’s finest cacao. After passing the CA bar in 2019, I moved to Los Angeles to practice personal injury law. Shortly after founding my own firm in 2021, I cofounded 

, a case referral marketplace where attorneys can find cases to grow their practices and refer cases they would otherwise drop. In addition to running my startup, I work closely with Trial Lawyers University, coaching attorneys on trial presentation skills. I speak fluent Greek and enjoy traveling, reading, spending time with family and playing piano.

My parents and I immigrated to Southern California from India when I was about three years old. After finishing high school in Orange County, I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in political science. I was a member of the American Youth Symphony throughout my undergraduate studies. I also worked as an SAT tutor, a music instructor, and an active freelance classical violist. After graduating from UCLA, I taught myself No-Limit Hold‘em and spent several years playing professionally. I continued to support myself by playing poker while I attended Rutgers Law School. After graduation, I worked for about two years in Florida at a human rights based non-profit before moving back to Orange County and founding The Guha Law Firm. My solo practice focuses on plaintiff’s employment litigation. I rarely get to play poker any more but every day I apply the same skills in my contingency litigation practice that made me a successful poker player. I am a huge Laker fan and love to play basketball, lift weights, and go on hikes with my dog Kobe.

Ranojoy Guha 

I was named after Satchel Paige the baseball player. People often ask me why there is not a “t” in my name and the truth is that my parents were afraid I would be called a satchel bag at school. I was raised in the small town of Viola, Arkansas and give the credit of my success to my wonderful parents, Eddy and Jeanie Oliver. I basically drove my mentor, Frank Bailey, nuts until he agreed to hire me. The first three phone calls to Frank’s office resulted in failure because the office manager simply told me, “Mr. Bailey was not hiring.” I brainstormed magic words with my parents and called back a 4th time asking if I could just spend “5 minutes with Mr. Bailey.” Thank goodness Frank agreed. In those 5 minutes, Frank determined I had great potential and hired me to trim the boxwoods and plant begonias in the firm’s garden. I told Frank that I would do whatever he wanted me to do for little or no money under one condition… If Frank went somewhere on a case for any reason, he must take me with him. We have been together ever since. I am married to Codi Oliver who is a pediatric occupational therapist. We have two daughters, Reesa and Reagan. One of our favorite things to do is ride horses together on our ranch in beautiful Northwest Arkansas. I am passionate about my faith and discipling men to be their best.

 “Wordless Persuasion”: The Neuroscience Based Skills that Provide the Key to Connection with Jurors.

"Anything that makes us more credible with jurors cannot be ignored. Gestures, eye contact, voice control, and smiling all make a difference, but you must have someone who can demonstrate these skills and coach you thru the transition to establishing real connections with jurors.”

I am a good teacher. I like to teach, and I enjoy working through the kinds of problems that we face as trial lawyers in our cases, in the courtroom, and with juries. Deposition and Case strategy (along with jury research) are my specialty areas. That includes collaboratively building detailed, realistic models of the defense case, testing case facts and theories with surveys, developing and testing alternative theories, and conducting in person research, including the use of shadow juries. I'm excited to be at TLU and have an opportunity to work with each of you.

There are some personal things about me that you should know. I am a teaser. It’s hard for me to resist the temptation to tease people when the occasion arises. It’s never in meanness and I try to be considerate of other’s feelings, but I probably have some work to do in that area. I am also blunt, I blame my parents and the rest of my family. In fairness, it's possible that none of them are as blunt as I am. If we are working together and you ask me what I think, I will be as gentle as I can be. I’ve gotten better with age but sometimes a blunt answer just spills out. Sorry.

When I teach, my goal is to collaboratively move people to a different level of insight and skill. That’s fun for me. It gives me joy. Otherwise, I am an open book. I’m not including the usual stuff about schools, degrees, writings, wins/losses, certificates, ribbons, ratings, spouses, hobbies, dogs, adventures, and travel…but ask if you are interested. I look forward to meeting you.

Charles Rittgers

I was born and grew up in Albany, Georgia, a small town in the southwest part of the state. I am named for my grandfather who was a lawyer admitted to practice in 1929 and who served as a trial judge my entire life until he lost his first campaign for re-election when he was 86 years-old. My father was also a lawyer. He was admitted to practice in 1966 and is known to be one of only two lawyers in Georgia willing to handle medical negligence cases at that time. From my earliest memory, I have always known that I was called to be a trial lawyer. Although as a child and through college, I raised hell, misbehaved a great deal, and caused a lot of trouble, I learned a lifetime of lessons about people, bullies, hard work, injustice, suffering, and overcoming challenges.

I graduated from military college and went to work, grew up, quit raising hell, and got admitted to law school. I worked full-time and went to school full-time, at night. I clerked for an appellate court judge for a year and prosecuted after that for a year. Then I joined my father and had the privilege of practicing law and trying cases both with and without him for 16 years until he retired in 2016 with terminal cancer. Throughout my career I have been handling and trying cases all over Georgia involving medical negligence, tractor-trailer wrecks, product liability, and aviation cases. When not trying cases, I have endeavored to serve the profession, serve in leadership and on various boards and to volunteer my time teaching. I have had the privilege of leading several organizations. Among those I most cherish are serving as President of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, President of the Melvin M. Belli Society, and now President of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Those are some of the things I have done professionally.

But you might still be asking who is Adam? I am the proud father of three wonderful children. I am a brother. I am a fiancé. And I am hoping you will allow me to soon be your friend. I am an instrument rated, multi-engine, private pilot and have been a pilot for nearly 35 years. I was certified to scuba dive when I was 9 years old. I love being on my boat and entertaining my friends fishing and creating adventures on the waters of the Bahamas. I once was an MMA fighter for more than 10 years and have kicked some ass and gotten my ass kicked. I have run ultra-marathons and been a part of the cross-fit cult. Presently, I’ve mellowed out of pugilistic athletics and am into an Ashtanga Yoga practice. For the last 27 years, after I got tired of raising hell, I’ve enjoyed much of heaven by practicing the enlargement of my faith, spiritual life, and by trying daily to be of service to others.

I am the son of a personal injury trial lawyer who made sure my pee wee basketball jersey was 33 1/3. Like most kids, I repelled from doing what was suggested and I never wanted to be a trial lawyer. After earning an undergraduate degree in Finance and Marketing from Syracuse University, I started working as a stockbroker’s assistant. I quickly realized Wall Street was not for me and I went to law school where my dad went, Brooklyn Law. Upon graduation, I joined his firm and picked my first jury the day after I was admitted. I must admit, my dad was right, and I love the practice of law. After trying dozens of cases for 5 years, I went back to school for an Executive MBA where I used the program to workshop systems for a professional service firm. The systems developed permitted me to grow my dad’s firm from one office in one location and hour North of NYC to five separate law firms in four states with over 20 offices. Throughout the business expansion I always stayed close to the court room and still try catastrophic cases. Professionally, I spend a lot of time mentoring and teaching. I frequently lecture on all aspects of trial and various trial lawyer associations. As a founding member of Trial School, I am actively involved in both the planning and presentation of continuing legal education programs. When not working I enjoy traveling, hiking, playing any racquet sport and just hanging out with my wife and three kids.

I was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. After high school, I attended the College of Charleston for a year before transferring to the University of Georgia. I am the son of a plaintiff’s attorney, and I was not sure that I wanted to be a lawyer until after I graduated from college. I took some time off between college and law school and worked in Atlanta, both for a criminal defense lawyer and performing maintenance work at a local golf course. A few years after college, I returned to law school at Mercer University, and I ultimately started practicing law with my father and several other lawyers. I focus on plaintiff’s personal injury work, and I absolutely love it. I have a wonderful wife, named Laura, and three great kids – an 11 year old son, and two daughters, aged 8 and 3. I am an avid college football fan, and I love the Georgia Bulldogs. I also enjoy spending time on or near the water with my family.