Fundamentals of Civil Litigation Seminar

Just because you are a lawyer does not mean you are the appropriate person to handle every potential case that walks into your office. This program explores what the Rules of Professional Conduct tell us about competency and how to evaluate whether we are the right lawyer for the case.

Filing and responding to a lawsuit involves more than just filling in the blanks in a template complaint or answer, particularly when a minor plaintiff is involved. This program focuses on the investigation, research, and due diligence required to draft outstanding pleadings, with emphasis on handling claims of minors.

Google the phrase “number one complaint about lawyers.” The very first result is that they don’t return client phone calls in a timely manner. Rule of Professional Conduct 1.4 states that lawyers shall have “prompt” and “reasonable” communications with their clients. This program covers what constitutes “prompt” and “reasonable,” and addresses techniques to keep your clients informed about their cases to help you avoid the most easily preventable complaint about lawyers.

Written discovery provides one of the first opportunities for the parties in a case to learn the facts that their adversary knows and to obtain documents to help prove or disprove a claim. This program will help you formulate a discovery plan for your cases and help you strategize about the information and documents you should seek at the outset of your case.

We all know how Covid lockdowns and social distancing upended the court system, leaving everyone scrambling to implement safer ways to keep cases moving along. This program will address what was learned during the pandemic to see what changes can be (and are being) made to the court system to make justice accessible while still preserving the traditions of in-person advocacy in a public courtroom.

You can’t win the game if you don’t know the rules. Every case is subject to the Rules of Civil Procedure, and a failure to know and abide by these rules can result in those things you think about at 3 a.m. – a dismissal of your case, restriction of your evidence, and other things you’d rather not have happen. This program addresses the importance knowing the rules and using them as both a sword and a shield against the things that go bump in the night.

A well-taken deposition can increase the likelihood of settlement or improve the outcome at trial. While Tenn. R. Civ. P. 32.01 governs the use of depositions, this program will give you some guidelines on how to keep clear goals in mind while preparing for and taking effective party and fact depositions.

Both good sense and the Rules of Professional Conduct require us to evaluate our professional and personal lives from time to time and determine whether we are doing what we want to do and whether we are performing at an appropriate level. This program explores how we can better focus our professional and personal lives to competently serve our clients without wandering off the edge of the map.

As lawyers, the only reason we open a file is to close it. Learn how to position your case to get an appropriate result by evaluating what damages your client is entitled to, coming up with a negotiation strategy, and using negotiation tactics and skills to effect a fair outcome and close your client’s case in a snap.

The Tennessee legislature created a cause of action for wrongful death in 1858; and remarkably, it wasn’t until 1962 that the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the word “person” in the statute also included women. This program will discuss the modifications since then, who can bring a wrongful death claim, and the distribution of wrongful death settlement proceeds, among other related topics.

Whether you are involved in a simple car wreck case or high-stakes litigation, you need to know how to handle experts. This program covers the rules to know, strategies for depositions, and other helpful tools to use when dealing with expert witnesses in your case, including your own experts and those employed by your adversaries.

Have you ever wondered why the abbreviation for the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure is “T.R.A.P.?” This program will help you recognize and avoid the pitfalls that every lawyer will come across at some point in their career, and will provide you with tips for deciding whether to appeal a ruling or judgment, to timely filing your notice and preparing your brief.

Both clients and juries come and go, but there is one constant in the courtroom: the person wearing a black robe. If judges could hear their “ideal case,” what advice would they give to the lawyers presenting that case? What have they seen that made the biggest difference at hearings and trials? Learn directly from the bench what works, what doesn’t, and what you can do to make a judge’s job easier.

Every great trial lawyer has an array of motions at their disposal to force compliance with the Rules or gain a strategic advantage in a case. This program explores the motions you should have in your arsenal and provides tips on persuasive motion writing.

We all know a great deal of preparation goes into taking a case to trial. But do you know what you don’t know? This program covers everything from the use of scheduling orders and checklists, to jury selection and technology in the courtroom.

The law of trial is a set of rules and procedures designed to ensure that a fair trial will be conducted. Although the decrease in the number of civil jury trials has resulted in an increasing unfamiliarity with the law of trial, there are potentially dire consequences for the failure to understand and apply these rules and procedures. This program will give you an overview of those rules and procedures, and how to apply them as you prepare and try cases.

John Day is the founder and owner of The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.; he has been practicing personal injury and wrongful death law for more than 30 years. He also handles select commercial litigation matters. Read More >>

Brandon has more than 15 years of experience successfully representing clients in hundreds of injury cases including medical negligence, product liability, child sexual abuse, tractor-trailer and commercial vehicle accidents. Read More >>

Laura Baker is a Shareholder at the Law Offices of John Day where she has spent more than 15 years representing clients in personal injury, wrongful death, and tort litigation across the state. Read More >>

Liz Sitgreaves is one of our seven attorneys at The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. where she focuses on appellate work, personal injury law, wrongful death and tort litigation. Read More >>