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.
TLU Performance Skills & Ski
feb 9 - 16, 2026 /
feb 9 - 16, 2026
About the bootcamp
TLU Big Sky is an immersive seven day trial performance retreat hosted in the mountains of Big Sky, Montana at the home of renowned trial lawyer and author Nick Rowley. This program is designed for lawyers who want to refine their advocacy, elevate their presence, and master the micro-skills of authentic human connection. Training takes place in the mornings and evenings, where participants work closely with trial coaches Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos in small groups. You’ll practice your presentation through voir dire, openings, direct and cross examinations, closings, and witness preparation, all while learning to see and feel the subtle movements, shifts, and signals that shape how jurors receive you. Throughout the week, you’ll train your eye to recognize these small but powerful presentation techniques and build the skill to use them with intention.
Student Prerequisites
Attendees should bring their own challenging cases, which will serve as the basis for applying these skills.
testimonials
Jordan Jewkes
The Jewkes Firm“I obtained a $1.9 million verdict on one of the two cases I brought to one of the TLU Vegas Bootcamps. The jury returned a verdict of $1.65 million, plus $75,000 in future medicals and $150,000 for loss of consortium. The work and training we put in at Bootcamp definitely helped get this verdict.”
Stefanie Collins
Driggs, Bills, & Day, LLC“I’ve been trying cases for over 30 years and thought I knew all there was to know. But TLU’s Performance Skills Bootcamp showed me there’s so much more to litigation than standing at a podium, reading from a script, and laying out the facts. I learned how to create imagery, engage the jury, and truly connect with them. It’s fantastic.”
Robert Langer
Langer and Langer“One of the best skills I’ve developed here is learning how to use my hands with intention—creating space, setting a scene, and reinforcing what I’m saying. Coordinating eye contact, voice, and hand movement has been one of the most powerful ways to engage and connect.”
The Micro Skills of Connection
Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos will transform the way you present your case by teaching you the art of connection. From the moment you begin speaking, you will learn how to command attention and build trust with jurors, making them feel engaged rather than talked at. Through strategic and intentional eye contact, vocal control, and purposeful movement, you will develop a presence and connection that draws jurors in and keeps them invested. Every gesture, pause, and word will work in harmony to reinforce your message, shaping emotions and guiding perceptions. With coaching, you will strip away distractions, present in the courtroom with confidence and precision, and rewrite your future.
Hone and Refine the Micro Skills of Connection
- Methodical Eye contact
- Cadence: pacing/pausing
- Emotional state control
- Hand gesticulation
- Glance control
- Creating space
- Reflective Listening
- Word choice
- Economy of words
- Congruence
Experiences, Restoration, & Community.
Big Sky offers a full range of snow-season activities, including:
- Skiing and snowboarding at Big Sky Resort (30 minutes away)
- Snowshoeing and cross-country trails
- Snowmobiling tours through the surrounding mountain areas
- Dog sledding experiences
- Sleigh-ride dinners
- Relaxing afternoons in Big Sky Town Center — with coffee shops, boutiques, restaurants, and local events open all winter
Protecting Access to Justice in 2026
As part of our 2026 commitment, TLU is donating the proceeds from Big Sky and other Bootcamps throughout the year to Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) to help defeat UBER-BACKED California Ballot Initiative 25-0022.
This initiative would sharply limit the value of injury claims by tying medical damages to Medicare, Medi Cal, and benchmark rates that do not reflect real treatment costs. It would make smaller and moderate cases economically impossible for many firms to take, leaving countless victims without representation. This measure is presented as consumer protection, but its real impact is to shrink recoveries, limit representation, and shift power to insurers.
If this takes hold in California, New York will follow, and every state becomes vulnerable. This goes far beyond auto accidents. It affects the economic structure that supports plaintiffs work across the country.
By training with us, you are strengthening your skills and contributing to the fight to protect access to justice for the clients and communities we serve.
Bootcamp Preparation
Students must bring a case to work on, complete prep assignments, and attend weekly Zoom meetings. You will record and review your presentations multiple times. This preparation ensures that you arrive ready to make the most of the bootcamp.
Your Instructors
Dan Ambrose
Trial Lawyers UniversityGiorgio Panagos
Ulysses LawI 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 Lawzilla.co, 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.
