Strengthen the team at your trial table.
I help attorneys optimize their advocacy at trial.
I love trials. The pressure. The strategy. The surprises.
I have tried over 150 cases to a jury as a former judge or advocate for both Plaintiffs and Defense. Now what I do is share my experience, insights, and research with attorneys heading to trial — whether the trial is in two weeks or two months. We look at your framing, make your story connect with the audience, maximize your visuals, and even address procedural questions about admitting evidence.
Some call this Consulting (see my services below). I’ve heard Trial Whisperer. Some say Second (or Third) Chairing—yes, I will even try the case with you.
Whatever you want to label it, my goal is to optimize your advocacy and help you succeed with your case. Whether you are a seasoned trial attorney or going to trial for the first time, let me help you put forward a persuasive and winning case.
Discover how I can help
Trial Partner
Whether you want to deliver a dynamic jury selection, carve up a cross-examination, or just bolster your trial team, I am there to help you succeed.
You decide how much: I can create your voir dire or deliver it. I can outline a cross-examination with bite or execute it. It’s your case—bring along a partner to boost your team.
We’ll work on framing your case, the story you will tell, and how you can connect with—and motivate—your audience.
Case Strategy Consulting
You’ve worked on your case for years. You may have become attached to some ideas or certain evidence. After so long, what’s actually important for trial?
I provide a fresh perspective and strategy options. What story will connect with jurors? What visuals will strengthen your message? What framing gives you the competitive edge?
As a professor, I teach the art of advocacy. As a judge, I saw what succeeds—and what fails. Let me share those observations with you.
Mock Trial or Focus Group Counterpart
You can learn a lot from the judge’s side of the bench. Now I’m back on the advocate’s side and can share those lessons with you.
Here, we run a mock of your opening, or a lead witness, or the biggest evidentiary challenges. By the end, you’ll know what worked and what we can adjust to strengthen your presentation when trial arrives.
Or, for a bigger challenge, give me a week to prepare with the evidence, and I’ll be your mock huckleberry. How will you respond when the bullets fly? What is the rebuttal when I take your witness on cross?
My commitment
Integrity is vital to the practice of law. My mentor Judge Recio emphasized its importance when I was his clerk, shaping me as a prosecutor and then as a civil lawyer. As a judge, I recognized its value even more.
I’m always building on my integrity. And I will in your case. I’m confident that when we uphold integrity—along with innovative advocacy—we can succeed in court and enhance our profession.
Tinkering in the Trial Workshop
After losing a trial as a new felony prosecutor, a colleague said, “Don’t worry. It was just the jury. Nothing you can do about that.” That way of thinking was unacceptable. It’s not like I had nothing to do with the jury. After all, I was involved in their selection.
That verdict changed everything.
Not only did I set out to find a better way to identify jurors—resulting in not losing another trial as a prosecutor and creating an innovative process now practiced across the state—but I also realized that studying advocacy, creating competitive advantages, and knowing the psychology of decisionmaking and neuroscience of the brain, I could achieve better results. We all can. And now I’m sharing those lessons…
Media
UNINTENTIONAL HUMOR
I was a young attorney in one of my first bond hearings — and evidently the only one in the courtroom who did not realize that all Churches are not the same.
Representative Cases
$4.5 Billion arbitration for cost overruns during refinery construction (Plaintiff)
An arbitration this size includes everything: experts spread around the world; analysis of laws and jurisprudence across multiple jurisdictions; cultural differences; language barriers (or opportunities); arbitrators from London, Madrid, Santiago; clients from different governance structures; outstanding advocacy; terabytes of data; and impressive logistics to pull off the final hearing.
Vehicle Collison (Judge)
This straightforward trial gave the parties the opportunity to learn fundamental skills of trial advocacy and learn the particulars of plaintiff litigation. I enjoyed facilitating both parties’ learning opportunity while experiencing that litigation from the judge’s chair.
Murder - finding of guilt over self-defense claim (Prosecutor)
Some trials come down to a single question of law and whether the evidence fits or doesn’t. In a murder trial with a self-defense claim, that is what happens. “Who did it” is not the question; it is whether the action was justified under a specific set of rules. These cases are an opportunity to put the magnifying glass on a specific issue and advocacy becomes paramount. Usually, that’s what most cases come down to—you just have identify the issue and attack it.
Mesothelioma lawsuit stemming from use of baby powder (Defense)
The baby powder mesothelioma cases were high-stakes. Here is when experts—and as importantly, the presentation of those experts—can be the difference between winning and losing. But there is also the opportunity to tell a story—and jurors must see those experts through the lens that was created by the power of your story.
Fentanyl trial (Judge)
Sometimes an issue in your trial is hotter in public opinion than usual. When picking a jury in these cases, such as a case with a death caused by fentanyl ingestion, the result rests largely on how that issue is handled during jury selection. The panelists have strong feelings from the outset, and the issue is how the advocate directs those emotions from the outset. Jury selection is critical in these cases.
Let’s do this.
Interested in working together?
Wondering how we could make it work?
Contact me and start a conversation. I look forward to helping your trial team.