Trial Lawyers University

Spencer Lucas learned three important lessons from legendary personal injury lawyer Brian Panish: preparation, aggressiveness, and authenticity. A partner at the firm Brian co-founded, Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, Spencer put those lessons to work, with Brian, to secure $135 million for two survivors of childhood sexual abuse. 

Listen in as Spencer breaks down the case against the Moreno Valley Unified School District for host Dan Ambrose. In addition to describing hurdles that the team overcame, Spencer discusses spearheading the firm’s efforts to find justice for sexual abuse survivors in the wake of California’s Assembly Bill 218, which gives survivors the right to file claims that were otherwise time-barred. As Spencer explains, it’s less about the monetary results and more about shining a light on institutions that covered up abuse. “It’s been incredibly satisfying for me as a lawyer to be a part of this awareness,” he says.

At TLU Vegas, Spencer will lead a workshop about navigating sexual abuse cases, sharing insight on strategic considerations for discovery, depositions, witnesses, and more.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Spencer Lucas | LinkedIn | Email

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | Facebook

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• Spencer’s hometown: Port Orchard, Washington. No port, no orchard, but a lovely place to grow up
• His pedigree: great-grandparents who were immigrants and practiced law to help their community
• Why he turned to accident law after meeting an injured accountant at H&R Block during law school
• The story of meeting legal giant Brian Panish began with talking football
• How he spearheaded his firm’s efforts to pursue justice for sexual abuse survivors after California’s Assembly Bill 218
• A preview of Spencer’s workshop at TLU Vegas: case-framing sex abuse cases
• Background of Spencer’s victory in Brady Blair and Justin McGregor versus the Moreno Valley Unified School District
• How a focus group helped Spencer frame the case
• The defense’s data dump that produced the smoking gun
• What the notebook that the retired principal tossed away on the stand revealed

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Verdict number 1: $7 million. Verdict number 2: $101 million. Verdict number 3: $13.2 million. That’s how a recent 30-day run went for Kimball Jones and his team at Bighorn Law.

While he’s proud of those accomplishments, and others, “It's the firm that we've put together – That’s gotta be the thing that I'm the most proud of.”

Tune in with host Dan Ambrose as Kimball describes why he’s proud of the team, especially how they bolstered the recent cases. He will share more for TLU: on October 1, he’ll break down the case with the $13.2 million verdict, a challenging one because his client didn't seek treatment for the first time until two weeks after the crash that injured her. On October 14 for TLU, he’ll analyze a wrongful death car accident case that will have gone to trial just the prior week. Then, the following week at TLU Vegas, Kimball will offer two one-hour lectures: one about lessons learned along his journey and the other about strategies to overcome “gaps-in-care” cases like the one where he secured $13.2 million.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Kimball Jones | LinkedIn | Email

☑️ Bighorn Law | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• Kimball Jones’ path: studying law (boring), clerking (boring), serving in the US National Guard (counterintelligence: cool, but he can’t tell you about it), launching his law career on advice from a law school buddy (who was in court against insurance companies. “I thought, ‘I’d be good at that.’”)
• Why a gut-wrenching loss taught him to avoid bringing in his client’s medical records
• How focus groups shaped his case on behalf of a woman injured in a botched hernia repair surgery
• His run of three trials in 30 days (including two lawsuits that were part of one incident)
• How Progressive Insurance’s policy about letters requesting payment played with the jury
• A preview of Kimball’s upcoming presentations for TLU, including at TLU Vegas

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Robert S. Glassman’s client was driving a motorcycle over the posted speed limit when a city truck cut in front of him from a side street. In the ensuing crash, the cyclist was injured. 

On this episode of Trial Lawyers University, hear how Robert presented the facts about his client’s speeding during jury selection to weed out jurors who didn’t think they could be impartial when deciding who was to blame for the accident.

Robert also shares how he relied on the testimony of an expert witness to prove that – even if his client had been going the posted speed limit – the accident still would have occurred, and the injuries would have been the same. 

Ultimately, the jury found that Robert’s client was speeding, but that the city truck was to blame for the accident. The verdict: $11 million to Robert’s client.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Robert S. Glassman | LinkedIn | Email | Instagram

☑️ Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | Facebook

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• When to tell prospective jurors the facts that could harm your client.
• How Robert’s concession that his client was speeding changed the mood during jury selection and resulted in striking 26 jurors.
• When speaking with jurors about how they feel about the client speeding, ask if they can be impartial while hearing the rest of the evidence.
• When potential jurors express their opinions, ask other jurors if they feel the same way.
• Why a plaintiff’s lawyer can’t go straight to the question of whether a juror can be impartial. 
• How to thank the jurors for every opinion they express without becoming combative.
• When suing the government, ask prospective jurors if they worry that making big-verdict awards will increase taxes for everyone.
• How to transition from questions about taxes to caps for awards against a government entity.
• How Robert proved his client would have suffered the same injuries if he had driven the speed limit.
• How the jury concluded that the motorcycle driver was negligent for speeding, but that speeding did not cause the accident.

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“I've always had a ‘presenter mode’… I’m ‘presenting’ to a jury,” says David Christensen. Then, he and his team at Christensen Law attended a TLU bootcamp about forming relationships instead.

They put the strategies – eye contact, slower speech, and other “micro-communication” techniques –  to work at a recent trial.  “It was palpable. I could feel the difference,” he tells host Dan Ambrose, founder of TLU. 

Next month, it will be David’s turn to teach. At TLU Vegas, he’ll break down an unusual case in which he sued a gas station for not calling 9-1-1 fast enough when a mentally ill man was killed at the site by a homeless man. In this episode, David and Dan put their teaching skills to work as they role-play the cross-examination of a doctor as a paid expert witness. Dan guides the lesson into techniques like asking leading questions, “looping” – establishing a fact and repeating that fact in the next question – and refocusing: “Doctor, here’s my question…”

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ David Christensen | LinkedIn | Email

☑️ Christensen Law | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | YouTube

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• “Everybody takes Chinese studies before coming to law school”: David’s unique path
• How a TLU bootcamp changed the way David connects with a jury
• Background of the case David is teaching at TLU Vegas
• What David is most proud of – not one case, but the firm he built
• The wrongful death case that David is taking to trial in October: a woman killed when a truck driver on methamphetamine struck her car head-on.
• How meth is becoming a character of its own in the trial
• How David is preparing to try his case in conservative Jackson, Michigan
• Exposing the lies told in deposition by the truck driver’s corporate bosses

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After years of settling cases out of court, Mike Morse represented the parents of a college student who died at a friend’s house when he took a high dose of “molly,” or MDMA, that he was told was Adderall. The young man’s friends videotaped him and posted videos to Snapchat of him struggling under the effects of the drug, but they didn’t call for help until after he died. 

Tearing up when the student’s parents told him the story, Mike agreed to take the case. But he hadn’t tried a case before a jury in 15 years, so he hired a jury consultant and coach and began listening to recordings, through Trial Lawyers University, of attorneys explaining how they won their cases.

Listen as Mike describes how he picked a jury, tried the case, and secured $75 million. He also reflects on a different case in which he secured the release of his client who had been wrongfully convicted.  

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Mike Morse | LinkedIn | Email

☑️ 855MikeWins | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | X | Facebook | Podcast

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• Why background mattered in Mike’s case representing the parents of a 21-year-old man who died after ingesting “molly” – which his friends said was Adderall. 
• How charges were dismissed during the criminal trial because of prosecutorial misconduct.
• Why Mike hired a jury consultant who also coached him on how to present his case.
• Why Mike told prospective jurors that the case was about poisoning, not a drug overdose.
• Why Mike decided to show jurors the video of the victim after he took the drug. 
• How jurors returned a $75 million verdict. 
• Why Mike ranks his greatest success as a pro bono case where his wrongfully convicted client was set free. 

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When Sean Claggett says that it’s rare for a lawyer armed with data to lose at trial, he has the data to back it up.

The evidence can be found in the pages of JuryBall: The Big Data Revolution is Here, the groundbreaking book that Sean wrote with Alicia Campbell and John Campbell. As Sean explains to host Dan Ambrose, their research made it clear that lawyers should reject the notion that jury trials are risky because “you never know what a jury is going to do… I think juried behavior is very predictable.” In this wide-ranging conversation, Sean recounts the genesis of JuryBall, his recent $24.6 million verdict in a med-mal case, and the tracks he’ll teach at TLU VEGAS.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Sean Claggett | LinkedIn | Email 

☑️ Claggett & Sykes on LinkedIn | X | Facebook | Instagram  

☑️ Sean’s book with Alicia Campbell and John Campbell: JuryBall: The Big Data Revolution is Here

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• Background of Sean’s med-mal case that ended in a $24.6 million verdict
• Days in the life: How Sean and his team prepped for the trial
• Are you a five-figure lawyer? Six-figure? Here’s why every lawyer needs to answer that question honestly
• Sean’s career path, including his interactions with legal legends at a young age and eventually starting his own firm
• The miracle settlement that saved Sean from bankruptcy
• A preview of Sean’s tracks at TLU Vegas, including his upcoming book about how to overcome a nuclear verdict
• Don’t trust your gut. Trust the data
• The genesis of JuryBall, Sean’s groundbreaking book with Alicia Campbell and John Campbell
• Sean’s firm’s future belongs to its rising lawyers

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For Joe Fried of Fried Goldberg LLC, two upcoming cases offer a great opportunity to share his insight as a founder of truck accident law. That’s what he’ll do at TLU VEGAS.

In this detailed preview, Joe joins host Dan Ambrose to highlight the cases: one on behalf of a brain-injured client and another on behalf of a child run over by an Amazon delivery van. He’ll teach the “speed trial” technique that he plans to leverage in the TBI case, calling a summary witness to sum up the complicated medical testimony in about an hour. His session on the “Amazonation” of trucking will guide plaintiffs’ attorneys on the nuances of different Amazon cases. Tune in for more about his strategies, including a few that some may disagree with, like this one: “I've given up feeling the need to teach medical school every time I have an injury.”

Are you a truck accident attorney? The Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, which Joe co-founded, could be a helpful resource.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Joseph Fried | LinkedIn | Email 

☑️ Fried Goldberg on LinkedIn | X | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram  

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University Website

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• A preview of Joe’s presentation at TLU Vegas
• How lessons from being a cop helped his legal career
• Active, instructive, funny: the federal judge who shaped Joe’s view of the law
• His “scary” journey from defense to the plaintiff’s side
• Consider this technique for thinking of depositions in another way
• 117 doctors treated his client over nine years; Joe won’t call any of them. Here’s why
• Joe will take trucking lawyers “back to basics” at TLU Vegas
• Background of his two upcoming trucking cases, including one against Amazon

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The beginning jiu-jitsu student had signed a waiver to take lessons; that much was clear. Also clear, tragically so, was that the young man suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury while sparring with his jiu-jitsu instructor. 

Plaintiffs’ attorney Rahul Ravipudi and his team moved, successfully, to get the waiver deemed unenforceable. That was one early strategy that Rahul describes to host Dan Ambrose. In voir dire, the team carefully deselected jurors who may have had biases about engaging in risky activities like martial arts. An expert witness proved powerful: A member of the founding family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he not only explained best practices to the jury but also demonstrated them – on Rahul. Tune in for more about Rahul’s $46 million verdict against the instructor and club.    

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Rahul Ravipudi | LinkedIn | Email 

☑️ Panish | Shea | Ravipudi on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, & YouTube

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University Website

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• Getting to know Rahul Ravipudi 
• Rahul’s successful campaign to reform school bus practices in California
• How he tells the damages story: Attend TLU Vegas to learn more!
• The background of Greener versus Del Mar Jiu-Jitsu Club
• Why he emphasizes the “irrefutable truth” of a case
• The strategies that led to a $45 million verdict against the jiu-jitsu club and instructor

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“It wasn't all so sunny and shiny early on, taking those hits,” Sach Oliver says about his early trial losses. To get back up, he broke down his failures to make sure he’d never repeat them.

The result is a methodology for success that Sach describes in Depositions Are Trial, his new book that he will teach at TLU Vegas. In a preview with host Dan Ambrose, Sach highlights foundational elements of his techniques – starting with the art of establishing the timeline in depositions because, as he’s learned, jurors find timelines influential. From physical strategies – like scouting out the courtroom before trial to prepare for setting up displays – to verbal strategies – like telling the client’s story so it sticks in jurors’ minds – Sach outlines the lessons he’s learned and is eager to share.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Sach Oliver | Oliver Law Firm | Email | LinkedIn

☑️ Oliver Law Firm on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

☑️ Sach’s book Depositions Are Trial 

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University Website

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• The methodology that Sach developed and shares in his book Depositions Are Trial
• One of the three most influential factors for jurors and how to provide it to them
• When you’re in “trial mode,” the results skyrocket. 
• Bold and a little crazy: Sach’s approach to burden of proof
• When it comes to the order of witnesses, think of building a sandwich
• The power of 3, from cross-examinations to your rebuttal

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When Michael Alder’s client goes to trial, she will face what Michael believes is the number one type of discrimination today: weight. She’s 5-foot-1, weighs about 235 pounds, and cannot have surgery to relieve pain from injuries suffered in a car accident until she loses weight.

In this dispute over liability, Michael will leverage the skills and strategies he’s developed as a top personal injury lawyer in California. With host Dan Ambrose, Michael describes how this challenging case demonstrates his trial strategies: attacking sensitive issues head-on, being honest, and turning a bad situation into a good one. Tune in to learn more about his philosophy, and be ready for a few bad jokes. After all, finding success in the courtroom is like telling a lot of bad jokes. If you keep telling the jokes – taking on the hard cases and pushing through the failures – at some point, you’ll hit the mark.

Need a financial scholarship to attend TLU Vegas? Email Michael to discuss how he can help.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Michael Alder | LinkedIn | Email | Instagram | YouTube | Telephone 

☑️ AlderLaw on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

☑️ TLU VEGAS

☑️ Trial Lawyers University Website

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Episode Snapshot

• From never west of Houston, to Los Angeles, to becoming a top PI lawyer: Meet Michael Alder
• Using language as a sword and a shield
• A preview of his presentation at TLU Vegas: The anatomy of an insurance company
• How he uses big data – and how he gets it into evidence
• Why you should prepare yourself for being uncomfortable at trial
• The tough issues he’s fighting against in an upcoming disputed liability case

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