Practical Advice: Basic Strategies for a Jury Trial

Jury trials can be unpredictable. You can never be certain of what will happen once the jury begins to deliberate, but there are strategies you can use to shape who sits on the jury, and how they will evaluate the evidence and witness testimony. Our experienced faculty members, who have tried hundreds of jury trials to verdict, will cover the entire process from voir dire through closing argument and provide you with the skills and strategies to effectively present your case to a jury.

Topics will include:

• Voir Dire: How to “choose” your jury and avoid losing the case before you start
• Opening Statements: How to present powerful facts to tell your client’s story without arguing
• Direct Examination: How to arrange order of witnesses, deal with adverse witnesses, and organize questioning
• Exhibits: How to present documents to the jury and via what witness
• Cross-Examination: How (and when) to do it, and when to stop
• Experts: How to deal with expert witnesses in both direct and cross-examination
• Closing Argument: How to summarize the case and get your verdict and rebuttal for plaintiffs
• Jury Instructions and Verdict Form: How to get what you need and preserve issues for appeal

ATTENDING IN PERSON?

The Bobzien-Gaither Education Center in Richmond/Innsbrook is our new state-of-the-art facility designed with your safety in mind. It features a Centurion air filtration system, which quickly and effectively eliminates viruses and bacteria. Additionally, the facility is thoroughly cleaned before each seminar, and face masks and hand sanitizer will be available.

COVID-19 POLICY FOR LIVE-ON-SITE ATTENDANCE

By attending a live-on-site Virginia CLE^® seminar, you acknowledge the health risks associated with COVID-19 and that you MUST follow all Virginia CLE^® COVID-19 policies. You may NOT attend a live-on-site program if you have tested positive for COVID-19, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or if you are under any self-quarantine orders per CDC guidelines.

Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $40 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE.

Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.

Inclement Weather Policy and Updates.

COURSE SCHEDULE (November 9) (Eastern Time)

• Sign-in for live seminar attendees in Richmond/Innsbrook begins at 10:30 a.m.
• Q&A will be handled via chat room for Webcast attendees.
• Q&A will be handled via e-mail for telephone seminar attendees.

FACULTY

Robert A. Angle, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP / Richmond
Stephanie E. Grana, Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci / Richmond
R. Lee Livingston, Livingston Law Group / Charlottesville

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Robert A. Angle, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP / Richmond
A partner in Troutman Pepper’s Business Litigation and Intellectual Property sections, Robert Angle has served as lead counsel on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants, in federal and state courts and administrative tribunals around the U.S., at both the trial and appellate level. He has particular experience litigating under the unique pressures of the Eastern District of Virginia’s “rocket docket,” where cases move on an extremely expedited timeline and have procedural hurdles and unmovable deadlines that are particularly challenging. His litigation experience is diverse: He has represented clients in multidistrict litigation, class actions, and multiparty disputes in a wide range of matters, including significant data breaches, complex corporate ownership disputes, patent and trademark infringement cases, trade secret and antitrust matters, and high-value fraud and breach of contract litigation.

Mr. Angle has earned an AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell^®, was selected as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America based on his excellence and accomplishments in litigation, and has been repeatedly recognized by peer rating organizations, including Chambers USA: Intellectual Property, Southern Virginia, Band 1 (2009-2023); Best Lawyers in America^®: Intellectual Property (2011-2023), Litigation—Patent (2011-2023), Patent Law (2023), “Lawyer of the Year” in Litigation—Patent (2021); Benchmark Litigation: “Local Litigation Star” (2021-2023); Virginia Business: “Legal Elite” in Intellectual Property (2005-2022),“Legal Elite” in Civil Litigation (2005-2018); Super Lawyers®: Virginia (2007-2023); and Virginia Lawyers Weekly: “Go To Lawyers”—Intellectual Property (2022).

In addition, Mr. Angle was inducted as a Virginia Law Foundation Fellow, recognizing his leadership in both his legal practice and his community. This community work has included serving as: a co-chair of the Richmond Regional Board of the University of Virginia College Foundation; a member of the Board of Trustees of Venture Richmond; a member of board of the Valentine Museum; and a member of board of the Westhampton Citizens Association. In addition, he has served on the board for multiple law-related organizations and has served as the President of the Federal Bar Association, Richmond Chapter (2018); the Chair of the Virginia State Bar Intellectual Property Law Section (2014); the Chair of the Virginia Bar Association Intellectual Property & Information Technology Section (2011-12); and as a faculty member of the National Trial Advocacy College at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Angle served as a law clerk to the Honorable James C. Cacheris, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Stephanie E. Grana, Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci / Richmond
Stephanie E. Grana, partner at the personal injury law firm of Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci, has been fighting for individuals and families for over 30 years. She has a proven track record of securing fair compensation on behalf of the injured and has obtained more than 85 verdicts and settlements of over $1 million. She is deeply committed to service to her profession having served as the immediate past-president of the Virginia State Bar and has been voted by her peers to numerous leadership positions in both local and statewide organizations.

Ms. Grana has earned an AV^® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell^®, has been selected to Best Lawyers in America^®, was recognized as Personal Injury Litigation—Plaintiffs’ Lawyer of the Year for 2020, as well as Products Liability Litigation—Plaintiffs’ Lawyer of the Year for 2022. She is included in the Virginia Business—Virginia 500 in the Law category, received the RVA 2022 Power Women award in the Law category, and was named to the inaugural class of “Women Who Drive Richmond” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (2023).

Ms. Grana has been selected by her peers to the Super Lawyers^® list every year since 2007. She has also consistently appeared in its list of the Top 100 Super Lawyers^® in Virginia, Top 50 Women Super Lawyers^® in Virginia, and Top 50 Women Super Lawyers^® in Richmond.

R. Lee Livingston, Livingston Law Group / Charlottesville
Lee Livingston practices civil litigation, personal injury law, medical malpractice, and defamation law at his firm, Livingston Law Group, PLLC. He served as president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 2017-2018. He is former chair of the Virginia State Bar Litigation Section Board of Governors and the Virginia State Bar Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. He is a fellow in the Virginia Law Foundation.

Mr. Livingston teaches Trial Advocacy and Professional Liability Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is co-author of Evidence for the Trial Lawyer, a Matthew-Bender (Lexis) publication. He has served on the Virginia Supreme Court’s Appellate Rules Advisory Committee and Electronic Filing Study Committee, and the Virginia Model Jury Instructions Committee. He is a member of the Boyd-Graves Conference and chairs its evidence committee.

Mr. Livingston is listed in Best Lawyers in America and was named Lawyer of the Year—2012 and 2021 Medical Malpractice, and Lawyer of the Year—2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 Personal Injury, Charlottesville, Virginia. He is "AV-preeminent" rated by Martindale Hubbell, and he has been honored for selection by Richmond magazine as a top 100 Virginia "Super Lawyer" and a top 50 "Super Lawyer" in Richmond, Virginia. He was awarded the Professor W. McKinley Smiley Jr. Lighthouse Award by the Southern Trial Lawyers Association in 2019.