Registering for this webinar will give you access to Parts 1 and 2. Use the same zoom link for Part 1 to view Part 2 on April 4th.



Every jury’s verdict is punitive—“how much does this defendant deserve to have to pay?” is part of every jury’s calculation, so how you frame the damages in voir dire has a huge influence on the size of their verdict. In this program, Harry will teach you how he had his clients frame damages in voir dire in each of the six 9-figure verdicts he selected in the past year. The words you use and the way you explain damages to your jurors during jury selection matters immensely, so make sure you’re doing it the right way. In this lecture, you will learn:

The way that you can explain damages to your jury while still asking questions in voir dire

Why it’s so important to explain damages in the best possible light… and which words and phrases will paint a negative picture of damages

How to identify jurors with negative views of damages during voir dire, while still painting damages in a positive way

How to frame compensatory damages in a way that triggers the instinct of jurors to punish

How to handle damage voir dire against corporations versus individual defendants

Harry Plotkin

REPLAY - TLU Live Vegas 2022 - How to make every verdict a punitive: Nuclear verdict in Voir Dire Part 1 & 2

William Barton

David Clark

Dark Art Trial Craft

Dan Ambrose

Giorgio Panagos

Raj Guha

TLU Skills Bootcamp - Voir Dire & Presentation Skills

Darryl Isaacs

Andrew Finkelstein

Building Your Billion Dollar Empire

David deRubertis

deRubertis Employment College

Dale Gaplipo

Working Up A Civil Rights Case Before Trial

Phillip Miller

Advanced Deposition Strategy and Practice

TLU Skills Bootcamp - Cross Examination

Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert

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

Cliff Atkinson

Visual Advocacy/PowerPoint Mastery Bootcamp

Bruce Schechter

Eric Wilson

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)

Khail Parris

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

Alan Blumenfeld

Alexandra Wright

Becoming a Master Trial Lawyer

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

Tricia Bigelow

Lecture coming soon

Justin Kahn

Visualizing The Case - Start thinking and presenting visually

Alex Wheeler

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

Bibi Fell

Breakout coming soon

Keith More

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

Matt Nakajima

Perfecting the Ask

How To Win a Civil Rights Case At Trial

Adam Malone

3 Essential Skills for Winning Medical Negligence Cases

Sonia Chopra

Rahul Ravipudi

Voir Dire Skills Training: Bring Your Case!

Get Up and Present

Christian Morris

The Science and Technique of Cross Examination

Kurt Kerns

Persuasion Techniques for the Conscious and Unconscious Mind

Kurt Zaner

Daniel Kramer

Premises

Preparing Your Client for Deposition

How to use theatrical drama in trial to persuade

Taking the Winning Deposition from the Defendant Doctor

Negotiating with Emotional Intelligence

Defense Tactics Used to Stop Nuclear Verdicts

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

Greg Bentley

Clare Lucich

Dangerous Condition Cases

Lloyd Bell

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

Lecture Coming Soon

Fine Tune Your Jury Deselection Strategy

Brian Breiter

Improv for Trial

Jonathan Michaels

Cross Examination of the Accident Reconstruction Expert

TLU Skills Bootcamp - Voir Dire

Brent Savage

Finding Your Damages Case

How to use dramatic/theatrical techniques in opening and closing

Brett Schreiber

Dangerous Property Cases From Inception to Verdict

Jay Vaughn

Ed Ciarimboli

Bring Your File

TLU Skills Bootcamp - Presentation Skills

Brian Panish

Opening and Closing

Daniel Ambrose

Connection in Voir Dire

Nate Bjerke

Witness Prep

Joe Fried

Sach Oliver

Negotiation Mastery

Greyson Goody

Edwin Hong

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

Rob Ammons

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.

Eric Wilson is a trial lawyer and focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout California.

Since joining PARRIS Law Firm, Eric has assisted in recovering millions of dollars for PARRIS clients. Some of Eric’s results include a December 2018 judgment, where he was part of a team that obtained a $9,500,000 on behalf of a young woman who was severely injured after allowing a trusted acquaintance to drive her home one evening. Unbeknownst to her, the acquaintance had drank to the point of intoxication, and subsequently drove off-road, crashing the vehicle with the young woman in the passenger seat.

In March 2018, Eric was a part of the team that obtained $5,500,000 in a confidential settlement on behalf of a woman who was assaulted while attempting to make a withdrawal from a large bank. The bank regularly provided security for its patrons, but on the day in question the security guard left his post to speak with a parking lot attendant. While the bank was unprotected, a hostile actor entered the premises and struck the plaintiff in the back of the head with a baseball bat.

In February 2018, Eric was a member of the team that obtained a landmark $53,745,374 verdict for two Southern California brothers who were severely injured following a head-on collision with a CRST big rig. Plaintiffs were traveling northbound on State Route 14 en route to their annual fishing trip at Mammoth Lake, California. As their vehicle approached a construction zone absent of K-rails, a CRST big rig driven by defendant Hector Contreras, crossed over the yellow line in the southbound lanes and into opposing traffic, striking the brothers’ vehicle head-on.

In July 2019, Eric was a member of the team that obtained $13,000,000 on behalf of a janitor who was injured in an electric vehicle manufacturer’s warehouse, when an inexperienced new employee attempted to move on the company’s car, and mistakenly put the car into drive and crashed into our client, crushing her lower extremities.

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 50 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 PI attorneys, which is why I started four Mastermind groups where I work with 55 law firms from all over the country as past of the Brain Trust Legal Group.

I grew up in Poughkeepsie, NY. I am the oldest of 3 children. My dad was an entrepreneur. I began working at 14 years old and continued working throughout college and law school. I attended college at Marist College and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, with an emphasis in Finance and Marketing. During college, I was involved in a serious car accident and a series of other legal issues, that made me decide to become a lawyer. I moved to Atlanta, Georgia to attend law school at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School at night. During law school I was actively involved and became the first ever night law student to become the Student Body President. I worked as a Personal Injury Paralegal during the day during law school. After I graduated law school and received my bar license, I immediately opened my law firm. I have been aggressively growing the law firm for the last 9 years, with over 30 people and 5 layers. We have won multiple awards. Recently, my law firm was ranked on the Inc 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in the US. I was one of only 10 Women Owned Companies to rank. I am married with 3 children. My hobbies include studying business, listening to podcasts, travel and fitness.

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.

When I was a child, my mother would spin our world globe and move my fingers across it to show me where her ancestry and my dad’s originated. I was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to a Caucasian mother with mixed Western European ancestry. Mom was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, population 2,000. Her parents were among the few pro de-segregation adults in town during her youth. My father was born in Monterey Park, California two years after the end of WWII to a first-generation Japanese American mother and father. Dad’s parents met and married in a WWII Japanese internment camp in Utah. Like most Japanese American families, they lost their property and personal liberties under Executive Order 9066. I knew as a child that I looked different from most of my peers. Still, I did not fully appreciate the cultural differences until I was older. My dad spoke to me about his struggles growing up in the highly charged anti-Japanese post war era. Dad told me I had to work harder and be better than non-minorities to succeed in life. My Mom had developed a progressive hearing loss at age 20 and has been legally deaf my entire life. Mom encouraged my creativity and inspired me to be an entrepreneur. At age 5, I sold freshly sharpened pencils door to door. At age 8, I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii, and recycled cans so I could save up enough money to buy a Gameboy. In high school, I worked as a pool janitor, a dishwasher and busboy, grocery bagger and hamburger flipper, saving money to buy my first car. From an early age, I wanted to be lawyer. However, I was unsure how I could afford to go to college let alone law school. Fortunately, I was awarded a Federal Pell Grant in addition to an academic scholarship from Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating from college, I sold cell phones for a year, saved all my money, and studied for the LSAT. Unfortunately, I was either turned down or wait listed by every law school. Discouraged, I thought maybe law school wasn’t for me. Mom refused to let me give up. She completed an application to Northern Kentucky Chase College of Law, encouraged me on my entrance essay, and told me to sign the application so she could mail it that day. To my surprise not only was I accepted to Chase but given a full academic scholarship. Although I did well in law school, following graduation I could not find a job. I asked a friend if he could get me a meeting with Bob Sanders, who was the best attorney I knew. When I met Bob, he was not hiring but agreed to allow me to help around the office. For the first year, I did any odd job the firm needed, including getting laundry, picking up lunch, cleaning the office, driving Bob to court, and serving as a valet. In exchange, Bob let me attend depositions and help him with trials. After a year, Bob hired me as an associate. The opportunity to work with Bob sparked a fire in me to become a trial lawyer. With Bob's mentoring and encouragement, I set out on a path to become the best trial lawyer I could be. I went to fellow lawyers in my office and called lawyers around town to see if they had any cases I could try. I started out trying soft tissue cases with no visible property damage. I lost the first few. With hard work and dedication to my craft, I started winning. Local folks in Kentucky and Ohio were hearing about my successful verdicts and attorneys began reaching out to me to assist in trying their difficult cases. I am humbled to say that I am now privileged to work on multi-million dollars cases around the country that are often referred to me by other lawyers. I believe in the underdog with justified rights and needs to receive fair compensation. I believe in passionate, empathetic tenacity and devotion to my clients. When cases must go to trial against large corporations and billion-dollar insurance companies, I’m confident I’m the one who is needed. So, in my journey and continuing journey, I’m grateful for so much and to so many in my life, that have made me the man that I am.

Matthew Nakajima

Thomas Grajek

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. ;-)

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.

Stephen King

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.

I am an army brat. Both of my parents served in WWII, my mother as a nurse in the Pacific and my father ran a combat ambulance company in Sicily and then Italy. I went to elementary school in 5 different states and high school in 3. By the time I was 22, I had finished college and a masters’ program. Although I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I had to make some decisions quickly; both of my parents died that same year. I took on the task of raising my baby sister, working full-time, and going to law school at night. It sounds awful now, but at the time I didn’t know any better. I started my practice by joining a group of 3 other lawyers who were reputable, but not so much looking for an associate as someone that would rent an office from them. I paid $500/month for the space with “light” secretarial help. It was “eat what you kill” and I was able get by and start my own firm within 6 years. I’ve never been on a payroll. I am admittedly, an un-medicated obsessive-compulsive, workaholic, control freak. I work constantly. Like almost anyone, I enjoy spending time with friends and family. But what I like to do most is travel, especially when there is some special experience associated with the trip. I’ve with squeezed in trips to Pamplona (2x), the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, the Tour de Mont Blanc, most of the national parks (Glacier and Yosemite are my favorites), hiked down to the Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon, taken Tango lessons in Buenos Aires, did a walking tour of Provence, attended the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, the New Orleans Jazz festival, and the Monterey Jazz Festival. I have a second home in New Orleans, and try to spend about 30 days a year there. It’s typically work during the day, and then find some music to hear at night. I don’t like to make mistakes, I don’t like to have unhappy clients, and I don’t like to lose. I assume that defense lawyer(s) are as smart as I am, and I try to out-think, out hustle, and out work them. My experience with jury research, and our utilization of case-specific jury studies, allow us to develop strategic discovery and jury communication plans for each case that are focused and pragmatic. I maintain an active practice in Nashville, but most of my time is now spent consulting nationally as a deposition and case strategist, including the use of surveys, focus groups, mock trials, and shadow juries. My success as a lawyer stems from being a lifetime learner. In addition to studying and reading major books on litigation, litigation strategy and juror psychology I have had training in micro-expressions (tough to do), deep metaphor interviews (learnable) and Clean Language. I completed advanced studies at Baylor Law School in 2019, earning an LLM with his major paper titled “Juror Centered Case Assessment”. 

I am AV rated, have been certified and re-certified as a Civil Trial Specialist, and has been designated as a Super Lawyer repeatedly. I have written 2 books (co-authored with his friend, Paul Scoptur) : Advanced Deposition Strategy and Practice released by Trial Guides in July 2013; and Focus Groups – Hitting the Bullseye published by AAJ Press in January 2017. I am also a contributing author to Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit, released by Trial Guides in 2015 and have been published in Trial magazine more than 8 times.

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.

Vince Colella

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.

Brent Savage 

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a miracle that I am here. My mother had a very difficult time trying to have a family, suffering multiple miscarriages. My older sister was born in 1971 and after that, my mother was pregnant with my brother Ryan who sadly was delivered stillborn in 1974 after learning that the doctor inserted the needle too far while checking the amniotic fluid. My mother had another miscarriage or two after that and was told not to try any more as she was high risk. Well, she became pregnant with me and I was born 2 months premature weighing only 4 lbs. As my Dad tells me all the time, I could fit head to toe in the palm of his hand. My Mom calls me her miracle baby. My Dad was an engineer but mainly worked in sales in the material handling/conveyor industry for over 40 years. We lived in Louisville, outside of Atlanta, and since 1986, in Northern Kentucky. My Dad played basketball at Evansville with Jerry Sloan. He played against some NBA legends and despite being on 6’1” had to guard Walt Frazier who was 6’4” and Cassie Russell who was 6’5”, who also took my Dad baseline dunking on him. My Mom worked for Kentucky Job Services helping people with interviewing skills and applications to find employment. She also was elected to the School Board and had the privilege of handing me my high school diploma at graduation. My Mom’s most proud moment was, while serving on local city council, getting a business owner who was trying to bribe several officials in order to get a piece of property to develop to fully fund and build a new baseball/softball field for the community after putting him on the spot during a public meeting. I became interested in law while taking a Public Speaking course at Murray State University. My small group professor recommended that I try out for the Speech & Debate Team. I took her advice, made the team, and for the next two years competed nationally while getting a partial scholarship. Then in the Summer of 1997 before my Junior year of college, I was hired as a law clerk at a small Plaintiff’s firm back home. They taught me everything you would want to know about personal injury, case selection, working up a case, taking depositions, preparing for trial and taking cases to trial. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to be a Plaintiff’s trial attorney

Dale K. Galipo obtained his J.D.from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1984. Mr. Galipo has since earned a reputation as one of the top civil rights attorneys in the nation. With the formation of The Law Offices of Dale K. Galipo in 1991, Mr. Galipo began specializing in personal injury cases and soon thereafter, he started obtaining multi-million dollar jury verdicts on personal injury cases. During the 1990’s, Mr. Galipo also handled numerous criminal cases and was dubbed “The Strikes Man” by the Daily Journal for multiple jury acquittals in “three strikes” cases. From 1995 thru 1996, Mr. Galipo obtained six consecutive jury acquittals on major felony cases.

In 2002, Dale Galipo started to specialize in civil rights cases involving police misconduct and excessive force and shortly thereafter, Mr. Galipo began obtaining multi-million dollar jury verdicts for victims of police misconduct and police abuse. In 2012, Mr. Galipo was awarded the Defender of the Constitution Award by the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and was more recently the Honoree for the MLK award presented in his name at the UC Davis School of Law. In the last eleven years, he has prevailed in over 50 Jury trials and has obtained over 100 seven-figure verdicts and settlements.

With approximately twenty published opinions in civil rights cases, Dale Galipo has also been selected to the Southern California’s SuperLawyers list every year. Having been awarded the CAALA Trial Lawyer of the Year 2020 and also the CAOC 2020 Consumer Attorney of the Year, he is often asked to speak about his civil rights practice, most often on how to successfully try a civil-rights case. As an active member of The Inner Circle of Advocates and as a Fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers, Mr. Galipo has gone to trial and won more cases against the police than any other attorney in the country.

Dale Galipo

David DeRubertis

Greg Bentley is a trial attorney specializing in the representation of consumers on a wide variety of cases, including insurance bad faith, catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death and product liability matters. Mr. Bentley’s track record reflects a career dedicated to protecting consumers. Mr. Bentley’s efforts on behalf of his clients have been recognized by his peers. He was honored in 2014 by Consumer Attorneys of California with the Consumer Attorney of the Year Award. He was named the 2012 Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of the Inland Empire, 2013 Jennifer Brooks Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Western San Bernardino County Bar Association and the 2013 Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year (Government Entity) by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association. He was a finalist in 2012 for the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, and nominated for the award again in 2013 and 2014. He will be honored in November as the OCTLA Top Gun Trial Lawyer of the Year for Product’s Liability.

I was cast in a play at summer camp when I was 8 years old. I still vividly remember and can still feel the yellow chenille shirt I wore as the lead in THE KING SNEEZES. I loved summer camp and went to the woods in upstate NY, near the Pennsylvania border, from the time I was seven until I was sixteen. I learned to play all sports and water skills; swimming, boating, canoeing, waterskiing. Camp Starlight also had a great theater program, and I learned above all that I loved performing. I knew I wanted to be an actor. My inspiration was the giants of borscht belt comedy. I went on to act all through school and in college and at a professional conservatory where I earned a Masters Degree. I also met my future life partner and together we set out on the path of itinerant actors in Regional Companies all through the West. Live performance in contemporary and classical plays has always been my passion. Learning and teaching the skills of performance and rhetoric to future generations mingled with my love of acting in the theater. After creating our own theater company in our early 20’s Katherine James, my then wife, and I were encouraged to apply what we knew to lawyers. What? Well, it didn’t take long to realize how much of what we knew about storytelling and stripping away artifice to reveal the authentic, vulnerable self is essential to the art of advocacy. And so, for more than four decades we have been performing live, creating plays, working in film and television AND teaching and working with lawyers and their witnesses. The interplay between these two worlds has enlarged our passionate commitment to exploring and healing the human condition. Our two grown sons and three grandchildren, all who live within eight blocks of us in Culver City, CA, are our legacy, along with the thousands of lives we have helped while working with the giants of the plaintiff bar and their brave, courageous witnesses.

Robert E. Ammons is the founding partner of The Ammons Law Firm. Rob received his B.A. from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. After receiving an academic scholarship, Rob continued his education at Baylor University School of Law where he was Editor of the 

, a member of the Order of the Barristers, and a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity. He received his J.D. 

 in 1988 and was selected to serve as a Briefing Attorney for the Texas Supreme Court.

Rob has represented consumers in products liability litigation since 1991. He is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Rob is also Board Certified in Civil Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is individually rated AV®, the highest peer-review rating offered by Martindale-Hubbell®. In addition, Rob is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

For more than three decades Rob has concentrated his practice on tire and automotive defect litigation. Rob represents consumers exclusively. He has successfully prosecuted numerous catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases against tire manufacturers, automakers, tire retailers, and tire service centers, including Michelin, BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Cooper Tire, Goodyear, Dunlop, Bridgestone/Firestone, Continental/General Tire, Kumho Tire, Yokohama, General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Toyota, Isuzu, Hyundai, Nissan, Mitsubishi, BMW, Mazda, Discount Tire, Pep Boys, Les Schwab, and Walmart.

Judge (Ret.) Tricia Bigelow served a distinguished career for a good portion of her life to serve the best interests of her Californian constituents. Inspired at an early age by her father to go into law, Bigelow served in multiple capacities through her law career. Starting out as a Deputy Attorney General after graduating with a law degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law, she slowly but surely climbed the ladder. She has worn several different hats during her law career; for example, she was successfully nominated by then-Governor Pete Wilson as a Judge in the Los Angeles Municipal Court, and later to the Los Angeles Superior Court. The following Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, successfully had her appointed as Associate Justice and later Presiding Justice for the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division 8 in 2008.

Clare Lucich is a partner with Bentley & More whose practice includes product liability, insurance bad faith, catastrophic personal injury, and governmental claims. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Social Ecology from the University of California, Irvine, in 2008, where she graduated 

 and was selected for membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Ms. Lucich received her JD in 2012 from Pepperdine University School of Law, where she graduated 

 and was selected for membership in The Order of the Coif.

Haytham Faraj

Zach Sprouse is a trial lawyer concentrating his practice in complex civil litigation, serious injuries, business litigation and counseling, and other high-stakes cases. Zach’s recent jury verdicts as lead trial counsel include a $3 million win over a nationally recognized motor carrier.

While in law school at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Zach clerked for the Criminal Appeals division of the SC Attorney General’s Office and a three-time Chairman of the Consumer Law Section of the South Carolina Bar. In cases concerning the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Zach’s work alongside lead counsel has led to settlement wins over mortgage servicing companies and other debt collectors.

He studied federal practice under a Senior United States District Court Judge and received a CALI Award for Excellence – the highest award in the class – from the Honorable Dennis W. Shedd on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Previously, Zach handled crisis communications for corporate clients at an Atlanta-based consultancy. He directed media relations strategy for legal teams facing a blitz of high-profile coverage. Zach’s guest commentary on regional economic trends has been featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Recruited out of the Stan Smith and Billy Stearns Tennis Academy, Zach earned four varsity letters as an NCAA Division I student-athlete at Presbyterian College. He served as captain of the Varsity Tennis Team and was named MVP after leading the team to its first-ever Big South Conference Championship Finals.

Zach Sprouse

I was born in Altoga, Texas. It was just as rural as it sounds. Population 200, with more cows than people. I lived in a single-wide trailer on a rock road. What the house lacked in charm, my parents made up for with love. I remember my childhood as happy and full of warmth. My parents were at every game I ever played, ever teaching conference that was ever scheduled. I lived in the middle of nowhere. There were no kids around. My older brother and sister were 16 and 14 years older than me, so they had moved out. As a result, I spent lots of time alone, or with my mom and dad. My mom and dad were my best friends who kicked the soccer ball with me, played video games, and watched TV with me. My dad was a road construction worker. He poured asphalt in the Texas heat in blue jeans in boots. Asphalt goes down at about 300 degrees, and in the summer, most days it is over 100. It was hard, dirty work. My dad never complained. When I smell asphalt being poured, I always smile, and I think of my dad. He died a few years ago. Mom was a hard worker too. She got up at 3:30am to leave at 4:00 am to get to work at 4:30 a.m. She worked as a waitress at a greasy spoon serving locals and truckers. She worked 9-10 hours per day, six days per week. Then she came home, cooked, cleaned, and did almost everything around the house. She didn’t complain either.

I loved sports. I played soccer, baseball, basketball, football, and track. I was a very good inside linebacker and I loved the intensity and contact. School was easy for me, and I liked it. I got an academic scholarship to go to a Lutheran college called Concordia University. I went with the plan to be a teacher. I met Alicia there. She was going to be a teacher too. I ended up working as a high school teacher for five years, including a year in the inner city, teaching a variety of kids including a fair number of gang members. After two years of teaching, I knew it wasn’t going to be something I did for 30 years. Alicia felt the same way. So we got married and decided to go to law school. Since we had no money and we were sort of clueless – we packed up, moved to St. Louis (it was cheap and we knew a few people there). We taught high school during the day, raced from work to class, and went to law school at night. We graduated in 3.5 years, sleep-deprived, but proud. I worked for John Simon’s law firm, and there I learned how to try cases. I also argued a lot of appeals – something that people typically don’t know about me. I’ve handled appeals in four federal circuits, three state courts, and I was the “Most Influential Appellate Lawyer” in Missouri twice. In my time in St. Louis gained a reputation as a sometimes too aggressive, reasonably clever, and trustworthy lawyer. I helped on injury cases but my primary job was running a class action department. It did well, and I liked the variety of cases and the challenge.

R. Rex Parris

Khail Parris

Alex Wheeler

Jason Fowler

Eric Wilson

Dan Eli

Brian Panish

Daniel Ambrose

Sean Claggett

Joseph Fried

Lloyd Bell

Ed Ciarimboli

Bruce Schechter

Brian Breiter

Kurt Zaner

Bibi Fell

Daniel Kramer

Christian Morris

Rahul Ravipudi

Brett Schreiber

Jonathan Michaels

Darryl Isaacs

Jennifer Gore-Cuthbert

Kurt Kerns

Matthew Nakajima

Thomas Grajek

Nicholas Wooldridge

Stephen King

Giorgio Panagos

Ranojoy Guha

Sach Oliver

Phillip Miller

Charles Rittgers

Adam Malone

Vince Colella

Andrew Finkelstein

Brent Savage

Jay Vaughn

Dale Galipo

David DeRubertis

Keith More

Greg Bentley

William Barton

Alan Blumenfeld

Cliff Atkinson

Rob Ammons

Tricia Bigelow

David Clark

Clare Lucich

Haytham Faraj

Greyson Goody

Zach Sprouse

John Campbell