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.
Witness Preparation & Direct Examination
may 8 - 9, 2026 / 8:00A - 6:30P
may 8 - 9, 2026
8:00A - 6:30P
About the bootcamp
Witness preparation is not just a step in the process. It is the foundation of a persuasive case. When done well, it allows you to truly understand your client’s experience, conduct stronger depositions, and develop testimony that jurors believe. It also creates settlement leverage when the defense recognizes your witness will come across as authentic and credible. This is a two-day, hands-on TLU bootcamp focused on preparing witnesses to testify from lived experience rather than rehearsed narrative.
testimonials
Johnnie Bond
Johnnie Bond LawThe skills you learn are applicable to every facet of litigation, not just trial: intake, persuasively telling your client's story in complaints and motions, depositions, case themes and theories, witness prep, trial strategy, voir dire, cross examination, direct examination. All of it. Once learned you find yourself practicing and improving your skills even during everyday conversations.
Courtney Stamper
Stamper Law Firm, PLLCI highly recommend TLU. The instruction goes far beyond surface-level trial tactics, offering invaluable insights into how jurors actually think, deliberate, and reach decisions. The instructors demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of jury dynamics and the trial process, delivering knowledge that fundamentally reshaped how I approach trial. For any trial lawyer seeking to elevate their practice, this training provides the kind of wisdom that distinguishes truly effective advocacy.
Shemia Fagan
HKM Employment Attorneys LLPAbsolutely career-changing! With the trial presentation skills we learned from Dan and Giorgio in bootcamp, I am prepared to take any case to trial. The real winners here are my clients, who will see their cases come to life in the courtroom.
What You'll Learn:
You’ll learn how to guide injured clients back into their memories in a way that is honest, grounded, and credible without forcing emotion or sacrificing authenticity. When witnesses reconnect with what they experienced, jurors don’t just hear the story. They feel it.
Witness Preparation as Case Strategy
Thoughtful witness preparation strengthens every phase of your case, from deposition performance to settlement leverage and trial testimony.
Accessing the Real Story
Learn how to move clients beyond rehearsed facts and into genuine memory so their testimony feels natural, credible, and human.
Preparing Witnesses for Depositions and Trial
Train witnesses to testify clearly and confidently without sounding scripted or over-coached.
Re-Experiencing vs. Recounting
Learn why powerful testimony comes from reliving moments rather than simply describing them.
Direct Examination That Engages Jurors
Conduct direct examinations that bring jurors inside the story rather than leaving them outside listening to answers.
Before-and-After Witness Structure
Help jurors understand what was taken from your client’s life by clearly showing the contrast between life before and after the injury.
Trauma, Memory, and Damages
Understand why injured clients often minimize pain and loss, and how to help them safely access the truth of their experience.
Language and Question Design
Use wording, sequencing, and pacing that allow witnesses to testify naturally while keeping testimony focused and compelling.
Testimony That Holds on Cross
Prepare witnesses whose testimony remains strong under cross because it is grounded in lived experience.
Building Belief With Decision Makers
See how authentic testimony shapes how jurors, adjusters, mediators, and judges view your case — and your client.
How You'll Train:
This is a hands-on working lab where you will see and practice effective witness preparation and direct examination. You’ll observe demonstrations, break down the techniques, and then immediately apply them yourself.
Step 1 – Witness Preparation Demonstration
Watch live witness preparation and learn how to guide clients into authentic testimony without scripting or emotional overload.
Step 2 – Direct Examination Drills
Practice conducting direct examinations that bring witnesses and jurors into the story, with coaching on pacing, language, and emotional alignment.
Step 3 – Apply It to Your Own Case
Use the framework on your own case to refine preparation strategy and build a direct examination that lands with clarity and credibility.
By the end of the bootcamp, you’ll leave with a repeatable approach to witness preparation and direct examination that strengthens damages and helps jurors truly experience your client’s story.
Your Instructors
