Course1

Selection and Preparation of Expert Witnesses in Litigation

$79.00

Experts play a vitally important role in civil litigation, whether they act as consulting experts or also as testifying experts.  The complexity of modern litigation has substantially increased the pressure on attorneys to carefully evaluate the suitability of experts for a particular case and prepare them for testimony. Approaching, evaluating and preparing witnesses, however, is as much an art as science or database search.  Furthermore, once an expert is selected, there are substantial risks surrounding discovery and preserving the attorney-client privilege.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to selecting and preparing experts in civil litigation.   How to find the right expert witness and common traps Evaluating the suitability of experts for your case Consulting v. testifying experts Approaching and retaining experts Preparing witnesses for testimony in a specific case Practical tips on the best/worst uses of particular types of expertise in litigation Discovery issues and preserving the attorney-client privilege   Speaker: Shannon M. Bell is a member with Kelly & Walker, LLC, where she litigates a wide variety of complex business disputes, construction disputes, fiduciary claims, employment issues, and landlord/tenant issues.  Her construction experience extends from contract negotiations to defense of construction claims of owners, HOAs, contractors and tradesmen.  She also represents clients in claims of shareholder and officer liability, piercing the corporate veil, and derivative actions.  She writes and speaks on commercial litigation, employment, discovery and bankruptcy topics.  Ms. Bell earned her B.S. from the University of Iowa and her J.D. from the University of Denver.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 12/9/2024
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Course1

Drafting Settlement Agreements in Civil Litigation

$79.00

A settlement in litigation is only as good as the settlement agreement.  The case may have stopped short of trial or stopped in the middle of trial as the parties realized that settlement was the best course of action, but preserving the informal agreement to settle places immense pressure on getting the underlying agreement right – not only settling the present dispute but preserving the settlement as things change over time. Understanding the law governing these agreements and carefully drafting their essential provisions – mutual releases, scope, financial terms, non-disclosure, non-disparagement– are essential to preserving the value of the settlement. This program will provide you with a practical guide to the essential provisions, traps and opportunities of litigation settlement agreements.   Framework of law governing settlement agreements Essential provisions of settlement agreements, including traps for the unwary Defining scope of settlement and mutual releases – either to prevent resumption of litigation or leave related litigation untouched Role of non-disclosure and non-disparagement provisions, violations and remedies. Enhancing the enforceability and decreasing the costs of settlement agreements   Speaker: Steven B. Malech is partner in the New York City office of Wiggin and Dana, LLP, where he is chair of the firm’s probate litigation practice group.  He is represents beneficiaries, fiduciaries and creditors in disputes involving alleged violations of the Prudent Investor Act and its predecessors, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, disputed accountings, and will contests. He represents clients in cutting edge probate litigation matters involving trusts and estates with assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/22/2025
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Course1

Drafting Demand Letters

$79.00

Demand letters may seem like they’re merely hammer-strokes, the first blow of litigation.  But the most effective demand letters are more subtly crafted.  Tone is important.  Vitriolic letters – letters that do not keep a client’s goals in mind and misjudge the reader’s range of likely reactions – may be counterproductive.  Rather than moving the process toward a good outcome, the letter may actually result in setbacks and greater costs.  There’s a subtle balance between precision and vagueness, stimulating favorable response by being sufficiently vague so that the reader speculates about adverse consequences.There’s also the issue of how much of your case – favorable facts and persuasive law – to include in the letter.This program will provide you with a real-world guide to setting goals and carefully crafted demand letters to advance client goals.   Setting goals and realistic expectations Striking the right tone – how aggressive is too aggressive? Precision v. vagueness - leaving room for speculation and negotiation How much of your case – the facts and the law – to include in the letter? Common traps and mistakes in demand letters   Speaker:  Shannon M. Bell is a member with Kelly Law Partners, LLC, where she litigates a wide variety of complex business disputes, construction disputes, fiduciary claims, employment issues, and landlord/tenant issues.  Her construction experience extends from contract negotiations to defense of construction claims of owners, HOAs, contractors and tradesmen.  She also represents clients in claims of shareholder and officer liability, piercing the corporate veil, and derivative actions.  She writes and speaks on commercial litigation, employment, discovery and bankruptcy topics.  

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 5/13/2025
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Course1

Drafting Legal Holds in Civil Litigation

$79.00

Legal holds are essential documents in civil litigation.  Presented by one party to the other, often by the plaintiff to the defendant in anticipation of filing a complaint, the hold demands the other party preserve specified evidence – documents or other items – which is essential underlying claiming.  But these no mere matter of issuing a form letter. Their scope and demands must be carefully tailored to the underlying claim. There are also issues of notice, who should receive the hold, remedies for breach, and potentially sanctions. This program will provide you with a practical guide to planning and drafting legal holds in civil litigation.    Giving notice of a litigation hold – and practical legal effect Who should receive the hold? Defining the scope of hold Standards in federal and state courts Electronically stored information – preservation v. pulling Termination of litigation Remedies for violation of hold – sanctions, adverse judgement   Speaker: Stanley E. Woodward Jr. is partner with Brand | Woodward, where he has a broad civil litigation and white collar criminal defense practice.  He also conducts internal corporate investigations.  He serves as an adjunct professor of law at Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he teaches pre-trial litigation and employment law. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Vanessa Ruiz of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and Judges Joan Zeldon and Judge Rufus King III of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  Mr. Woodward earned his B.A., cum laude, and his M.S., magna cum laude, from American University, and his J.D., cum laude, from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 6/1/2025
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Course1

2023 Ethics in Civil Litigation Update, Part 1

$79.00

This annual ethics update will cover a wide range of ethical developments important to your civil litigation practice.  The program will provide detailed coverage of developments in conflicts of interest in litigation, confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege, and drafting and negotiating settlement agreements.  The program will feature its annual tour of the waterfront of technology issues in litigation practice.  Please join for this annual program which will provide you with a lively discussion of ethical developments important to civil litigation practice.    Day 1: Ethics and technology in law practice review Ethics and settlement agreements Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics, evidence and witnesses Developments in confidentiality and preserving the attorney-client privilege Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 6/8/2025
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Course1

2023 Ethics in Civil Litigation Update, Part 2

$79.00

This annual ethics update will cover a wide range of ethical developments important to your civil litigation practice.  The program will provide detailed coverage of developments in conflicts of interest in litigation, confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege, and drafting and negotiating settlement agreements.  The program will feature its annual tour of the waterfront of technology issues in litigation practice.  Please join for this annual program which will provide you with a lively discussion of ethical developments important to civil litigation practice.    Day 1: Ethics and technology in law practice review Ethics and settlement agreements Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Ethics, evidence and witnesses Developments in confidentiality and preserving the attorney-client privilege Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  

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    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 6/9/2025
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Course1

Good Faith and Fair Dealing in Business Transactions: Litigation Risks

$79.00

When business transactions go bad – either because they fail on their own terms or they never reach the closing table – there are often recriminations, accusations of bad-faith and threats of litigation.  The parties negotiating these transactions are subject to certain standards of conduct which, if violated, give rise to liability. Various theories of liability exist, including breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, negligent or fraudulent misrepresentation, and interference with a business expectancy. This program will provide you with real-world guide to the standards of conduct in business transactions and your clients can mitigate risk of liability.   Sources of fiduciary standards in negotiating, drafting and closing business transactions How fiduciary standards are commonly breached in transactions Role of business torts, including negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, interference with a business expectancy Risks of litigation and practical remedies – damages, rescission, specific performance Special duties in closely held businesses, including misappropriation of company opportunities   Speaker: Shannon M. Bell is a member with Kelly Law Partners, LLC, where she litigates a wide variety of complex business disputes, construction disputes, fiduciary claims, employment issues, and landlord/tenant issues.  Her construction experience extends from contract negotiations to defense of construction claims of owners, HOAs, contractors and tradesmen.  She also represents clients in claims of shareholder and officer liability, piercing the corporate veil, and derivative actions.  She writes and speaks on commercial litigation, employment, discovery and bankruptcy topics.  

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 8/23/2025
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Course1

Taxation of Settlements & Judgments in Civil Litigation

$79.00

Two of the questions clients have about settlements are: Is the settlement taxable? And if so, how is the settlement treated for tax purposes?  The answers to these questions turn on the nature of the underlying claim(s) giving rise to the settlement.  Some settlements are taxed as ordinary income, subjecting income tax and employment tax withholding in certain instances.  Other types of settlements are taxable as capital gains. There are also questions related to the treatment of that portion of the settlement, if any, attributable to attorneys’ fees.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to the tax treatment of settlements in civil litigation.    How the underlying claim giving rise to a settlement determines its tax treatment Loss of income or gross business profit v. destruction of capital property Special treatment for physical injury Treatment of portion of settlement attributable to attorneys’ fees Income and employment tax withholding from settlements   Speaker: Stephen J. Turanchik is an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Paul Hastings, LLP, where his practice focuses on tax litigation at the state and federal levels as well as tax controversy work at the administrative levels. Before entering private practice, he is previously litigated for six years for the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, where he litigated over 300 tax cases in federal, bankruptcy, state and probate court. He has also lectured at Loyola Law School and California State University, Fullerton on topics relating to tax litigation and is chair-elect of the executive committee of the Los Angeles Bar Association’s Tax Section. Mr. Turanchik received his B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross, his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, and his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 1/12/2026
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Course1

Ethics of Working with Experts and Witnesses

$79.00

Preparing witnesses – whether fact witnesses or experts – for deposition or trial or conferring with them during breaks in testimony fraught with ethical issues. Expert witnesses are paid for their time, not their testimony. Though they may be hired to support a client’s view of the facts, there are limits to how experts can be coached. There are also real limits to how attorneys can prompt fact witnesses, for instance to “not remember” unfavorable facts. There are also significant ethical issues involving how to handle inadvertently produced privileged documents and when testimony goes in an unexpected adverse direction. This program will provide you with a practical guide to the ethical issues and traps of working with witnesses.   Paying witnesses for their time versus their testimony Prompting a witness to “not remember” unfavorable testimony Conferring with witnesses during deposition breaks and the limits of what you advise Dishonest witnesses – what are your obligations to the court and your client? How to handle the inadvertent production of privileged documents Drafting witness affidavits without interviewing the witness   Speakers: Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the Tysons Corners, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, where he advises firm clients on professional responsibility issues and properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  He has served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and is a Member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.  He has written extensively on attorney-client privilege, ethics and other topics, and has spoken at over 1,800 CLE programs throughout the U.S. and in several foreign countries.  Through links on his website biography, he has made available to the public his summaries of over 1,600 Virginia and ABA legal ethics opinions, organized by topic; a 300 page summary of his two-volume 1,500 page book on the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine; over 900 weekly email alerts about privilege and work product cases; and materials for 40 ethics programs on numerous topics, totaling over 9,000 pages of analysis.  Mr. Spahn graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received his J.D. from Yale Law School. Elizabeth Treubert Simon is an ethics attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she advises on a wide range of ethics and compliance-related matters to support Akin Gump’s offices worldwide.  Previously, her practice focused on business and commercial litigation and providing counsel to clients regarding professional ethics and attorney disciplinary procedures.  She is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Professional Discipline and the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct Rules Review Committee.  She is the immediate past chair of the District of Columbia Legal Ethics Committee.  She writes and speaks extensively on attorney ethics issues.   She received her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Albany Law School.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 1/20/2026
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Course1

Responding to Demand Letters: Tone and Substance

$79.00

Responding to a demand letter is as tricky as issuing a demanding letter.  There are issues of getting the substance right and getting the tone right.  How time do you spend researching the law and laying out your case?  How much do you disclose about your favorable facts? Is your goal settlement and, if so, how does that impact the tone of your letter?  Do you know enough about the letter writer and his or her client to gauge their likely reaction to your response?  And when do you respond – right away, by any deadline given, or do you wait?  These and many other questions will be addressed in this practical discussion of the tradeoffs of responding to demand letters.    Goals – do you want settlement or to make it go away – or are you preparing for litigation?  Law – how much do you research and push back? Tone – are you assertive, making counter-demands, or conciliatory? Facts – How much of what you know do you lay out? Timing – responding right away, by a deadline in the demand, or later?   Speaker: William J. Kelly, III is a founding member of Kelly Law Partners LLC and has nearly 30 years’ experience in the areas of employment and commercial litigation. In the area of employment law, he litigates trade secret, non-compete, infringement and discrimination claims in federal and state courts nationwide and has advised Fortune 50 companies on workplace policies and practices.  In the area of commercial litigation, his experience includes class action litigation, breach of contract and indemnity, mass-claim complex insurance litigation, construction litigation and trade secrets.  Earlier in career, he founded 15 Minutes Music, an independent music production company.  Mr. Kelly earned his B.A. from Tulane University and his J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law.

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 2/10/2026
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Course1

Evidentiary Issues with Text and "Chat" Messages

$79.00

Text messaging is mainstream. Clients generate virtual reams of data when they message with business partners, vendors, employees, and even public. This is a rich vein of electronically stored information that is potentially discoverable in formal litigation or pre-litigation.  Because texting is so convenient, casual and almost reflexive, the caution clients exercise in other forms of communication are often disregarded when texting, including when they text with their lawyers. This program will provide you with a practical guide to obtaining text messages, the risks of discovery in litigation, and related issues. Obtaining text messages – working with mobile carriers Timing – how long are texts kept and in what form? Discovery issues – obtaining texts from parties or other sources Issues related to encrypted messaging services How strategies differ for plaintiffs and defendants Speaker: Stanley E. Woodward Jr. is a partner in the law firm Brand Woodward Law, where he has a broad civil litigation and white-collar criminal defense practice.  He also conducts internal corporate investigations.  He serves as an adjunct professor of law at Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where he teaches pre-trial litigation and employment law. Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Vanessa Ruiz of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and Judges Joan Zeldon and Judge Rufus King III of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  

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    Format
  • 60
    Minutes
  • 5/10/2026
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Course1

2024 Ethics in Litigation Update, Part 1

$79.00

This annual ethics update will cover a wide range of ethical developments important to your civil litigation practice.  The program will provide detailed coverage of developments in conflicts of interest in litigation, confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege, and ethics in defense and common interest agreements.  The program will provide a wide-ranging discussion of the ethical issues that arise with the spread, use and development of technology in litigation.  Also, the panel will discuss ethical issues in discovery of digital files, records, and communications.  Please join for this annual program which will provide you with a lively discussion of ethical developments important to civil litigation practice.    Day 1: Generative AI and legal ethics Conflicts update, part 1 Witness preparation   Day 2: Deception in investigations Confidentiality and privilege update Conflicts update, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  He is the immediate past Treasurer of the ABA and currently serves as Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.   Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 6/5/2026
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Course1

2024 Ethics in Litigation Update, Part 2

$79.00

This annual ethics update will cover a wide range of ethical developments important to your civil litigation practice.  The program will provide detailed coverage of developments in conflicts of interest in litigation, confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege, and ethics in defense and common interest agreements.  The program will provide a wide-ranging discussion of the ethical issues that arise with the spread, use and development of technology in litigation.  Also, the panel will discuss ethical issues in discovery of digital files, records, and communications.  Please join for this annual program which will provide you with a lively discussion of ethical developments important to civil litigation practice.    Day 1: Ethics and discovery Ethics and preparing witnesses – the limits of coaching Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 1   Day 2: Annual technology review – the many ways in which technology can cause ethical traps for lawyers in litigation Client confidentiality, the attorney-client privilege, and work product doctrine Recent developments in conflicts of interest, part 2   Speakers: Lucian T. Pera is a partner in the Memphis office of Adams & Reese, LLP.  His practice includes professional malpractice litigation as well as counseling lawyers and law firms in the area of ethics and professional responsibility.  He was a member of the ABA’s Ethics 2000 Commission and is co-author of "Ethics and Lawyering Today," a national e-mail newsletter on lawyer ethics, which is accessible at: www.ethicsandlawyering.com.  He is the immediate past Treasurer of the ABA and currently serves as Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association.  Before entering private practice, he served as a judicial clerk to Judge Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  Mr. Pera received his A.B. with honors from Princeton University and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. William Freivogel is the principal of Freivogel Ethics Consulting and is an independent consultant to law firms on ethics and risk management.  He was a trial lawyer for 22 years and has practiced in the areas of legal ethics and lawyer malpractice for more than 25 years.  He is chair of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct. He maintains the Web site “Freivogel on Conflicts” at www.freivogelonconflicts.com <http://www.freivogelonconflicts.com/> .  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Champaign), where he received his B.S. and LL.B. Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections.  For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation.  Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee.  He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.    

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  • 60
    Minutes
  • 6/6/2026
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