Trial Lawyers University

Nine jurors blamed Kurt Zaner 's client, a homeless man sleeping under a trailer, not the truck driver who ran him over. Still, when Kurt visited him afterwards, the man was as happy as if he'd won $10 million because someone had finally fought for him. That spirit drives Dragon Slayers, the listserv that Kurt, a Colorado trial lawyer and TLU instructor, built with inspiration from a fantasy author. Members share wins, raw losses, and referrals, guided by ideals like putting the journey before the destination and accepting that some clients cannot be saved. Tune in as Kurt tells host Dan Ambrose what AI still can't do on cross and how befriending defense counsel can mean less fight back. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Kurt Zaner | LinkedIn ☑️ Zaner Law | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 & 2027 Programming ☑️ Claude Cowork Masterclass , October 8–9, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ Eric Oliver: Case Story Bootcamp , Oct 20–24, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ Joe Fried & Joe Camerlengo's Trucking Bootcamp , Dec 8–12, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ TLU AI Conference , February 18–19, 2027, Huntington Beach, CA ☑️ Phillip Miller's Advanced Deposition College , Feb 18–20, 2027, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot After realizing his talks all drew on fantasy novels, Kurt started Dragon Slayers, a listserv whose trial lawyer members stand between their clients and "dragons" like insurers and corporations, sharing wins, raw losses, and referrals. Kurt answers Gerry Spence's warning that you can't be a great lawyer and a great father with "informed consent": consciously choosing what to sacrifice instead of defaulting to nonstop work. Despite two years on a knee cart, Kurt still exercises daily and explains why lawyers need to stay healthy for their clients, their families, and themselves. Kurt's firm uses Supio to write every pre-litigation demand, draft discovery, summarize depositions, and draft directs and crosses, but he credits human creativity for his most explosive cross material. Because a case might still end in a loss, Kurt makes a point of embracing every victory, from a $50,000 settlement to winning a deposition or a motion to compel. After passing on a workers' comp bad faith case that Sean Claggett successfully tried to a $145 million verdict in Colorado, Kurt learned to be happy that the client found the right lawyer at the right time. For the last five years, Kurt has sincerely tried to befriend defense trial lawyers, which he says makes trials more enjoyable and has even led to case referrals. Produced and Powered by LawPods

About half of any jury pool arrives assuming the game is rigged, and trial consultant Eric Oliver says you can't deny it. In his 41st year working with trial attorneys, Eric joins host Dan Ambrose to preview his new book, Assuming It to Be True , which tackles two hurdles jurors bring into the courtroom: unspoken assumptions and impaired attention. Eric explains why lawyers should approach every case as if it were a punitive case and frame damages as the deserved consequences of the defendant's wrongful conduct. Tune in to hear how the name you give the defendants can make their wrongdoing look worse, and how too much good evidence once cost a case against a cigarette company. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Eric Oliver | LinkedIn ☑️ MetaSystems Consulting | YouTube | LinkedIn ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 & 2027 Programming ☑️ Claude Cowork Masterclass , October 8–9, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ Eric Oliver: Case Story Bootcamp , Oct 20–24, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ Joe Fried & Joe Camerlengo's Trucking Bootcamp , Dec 8–12, 2026, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ TLU AI Conference , February 18–19, 2027, Huntington Beach, CA ☑️ Phillip Miller's Advanced Deposition College , Feb 18–20, 2027, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Eric cites research showing one distracted moment can cost you a juror’s attention for an average of 23 minutes — long enough to lose half of a 45-minute opening. Many jurors are more motivated to punish a wrongdoing defendant than to help an injured plaintiff, so Eric establishes the wrongdoing before asking jurors to value the harm. About half of today's jury pool are "post-truth deciders" who share a fear that the people in charge don't have their interests at heart. Using the story model of decision-making, Eric structures cases in the sequence every good story follows: the situation and characters, then the action, and then the aftermath. In a delivery trauma case, Eric explains how simply calling the defendants "the delivery room doctors" sets up a norm that makes a largely absent supervising OB look far worse. Most lawyers speed up on cross-examination, and Eric pinpoints the two reasons it happens. How do you lose a case because you have too many incriminating documents? Eric shares what a Florida tobacco case taught him about good evidence backfiring. When a client blows a deposition, Eric turns the question back on the lawyer and explains how the right preparation shapes how jurors see your client at trial. Produced and Powered by LawPods

According to host Dan Ambrose , now is the "greatest time ever to become a trial lawyer" because all the strategy is out there. Fresh off his 59th five-day bootcamp, the TLU founder debriefs four working trial lawyers who came in frustrated by inconsistent verdicts, out-of-state competitors landing nine-figure results, and ingrained habits like rushing through openings. Using a truck versus motorcycle wrongful death case to practice opening statements and performance skills, they drilled the fundamentals that carry across every aspect of trial, from pace and breath to micro-connecting with jurors and creating space so a scene comes alive. Tune in to find out how mastering control of yourself can help deliver more impact in the courtroom. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU Beach ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot Fresh off bootcamp number 59, Dan explains that the same core skills of eye contact, hand movement, and voice control carry across all aspects of trial. Years ago in Iowa, Dan's mentor Dave Clark set him on this path with one idea: when you make the unconscious conscious, you become dangerous in the courtroom. Having completed his sixth bootcamp, Johnny Bond describes the training as a layered progression where at the advanced level, cross-examination becomes a trance built with the witness. Rick Sandoval explains why he joined the bootcamp: after nearly 30 years of practicing, he was sick of out-of-state lawyers pulling nine-figure verdicts in New Mexico. Steven's biggest takeaway from opening statements is micro-connecting with each juror so that they feel like a participant in the trial rather than one face in a box of twelve. After 38 years and well over a hundred trials, Sean Simpson admits he never trained pace and shares how this oversight prevents lawyers from connecting with jurors. Dan has no patience for lawyers who hand a client's deposition prep to an associate, and then blame the associate (or the terrified client) when it goes sideways. According to Dan, voir dire is essentially a script, and the best trial lawyers all repeat the same proven lines. Whether it's a jail, an airplane, or an asbestos exposure, the participants practice creating space so jurors don't just hear the story, they witness it. Produced and Powered by LawPods

After 26 years trying cases, and several scheduled attempts he never followed through on, Sagi Shaked finally attended a Trial Lawyers University bootcamp , inspired partly by his son Tomer, an incoming Georgetown Law student who trained alongside him. In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose , Sagi shares what he took from five days of training: mastering the rhythm and hand placement of cross-examination, building visual space and illusion of movement, and practicing witness prep that helps a witness relive, rather than recall, an event. He also explains how he applies these lessons to building traumatic brain injury cases, distinguishing them from routine orthopedic claims. Tune in for insights on cross-examination, courtroom visuals, and witness prep. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Sagi Shaked | LinkedIn ☑️ Shaked Law | LinkedIn | X | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot ★ After seven scheduled attempts, Sagi Shaked finally completed a Trial Lawyers University bootcamp, motivated in part by training alongside his son Tomer, an incoming Georgetown Law student. ★ Sagi and Dan Ambrose walk through the bootcamp's cross-examination fundamentals: leading questions, present-tense phrasing, effective flip-chart use, and controlling breath and voice. ★ Sagi describes how rotating between the roles of lawyer, witness, and juror during training revealed how hand movement and eye contact "lock in" a witness or jury. ★ Working through his own upcoming intersection-crash trial, Sagi practiced building visual space and the illusion of movement to make courtroom storytelling more persuasive. ★ During witness prep for a civil rights case, Sagi and Dan worked to help a badly beaten witness relive his story instead of simply recalling it. ★ Sagi explains why mild traumatic brain injury cases require a different approach than orthopedic cases, describing TBI cases as functioning like wrongful death cases for the family left behind. ★ Sagi shares how he uses TLU On Demand and his own conference presentations to pass along what he's learned to other plaintiff trial lawyers. Produced and Powered by LawPods, a podcast marketing agency for law firms

From failed minister to car salesman to Oregon Secretary of State, Shemia Fagan has taken one of the more unconventional roads to plaintiff employment law. Now managing partner of six HKM Employment Attorneys offices and running over 200 active cases as the sole attorney on her team, Shemia joins guest host Stephen King and her partner Matthew Westerbeck to show how she does it: with Claude. Together they walk through a practical framework for trial lawyers — using the acronym TRIAL — covering AI-driven triage, research, intake review, advocacy prep, and continuous learning. Tune in for concrete strategies on email automation, judge simulation, deposition prep, and how AI frees lawyers to focus on the human skills no machine can replace. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Shemia Fagan | LinkedIn ☑️ HKM Employment Attorneys LLP | LinkedIn ☑️ Matthew Westerbeck | LinkedIn ☑️ Stephen King | LinkedIn ☑️ Kings Justice Law ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU Beach 2027 ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot Shemia dropped out of a bachelor of divinity program at Boston University, sold cars for a couple of years to save for law school, then graduated from law school in Oregon in 2009 — building persuasion skills at every stage. While working at a corporate defense firm, Shemia simultaneously served in the Oregon legislature, passing paid sick leave and wage transparency laws — and quickly realized she would never make partner at a firm whose corporate clients were her political adversaries. Representing her mother in an age discrimination case, produced a settlement that let her mom buy her first home ever; that moment of purpose drew Shemia fully to the plaintiff side. After discovering Claude Cowork, Shemia spent the entire following weekend building email triage and expense-report automation — a "camel's nose under the tent" that transformed how she runs her practice. The episode introduces the TRIAL acronym — Triage, Research, Intake, Advocacy, Learning — as a practical roadmap for how plaintiff lawyers can deploy AI across every phase of their practice without sacrificing professional responsibility. Shemia used Claude to download all prior deposition transcripts of an opposing attorney 30 years her senior, extract their patterns and rule citations, and build a cheat sheet. Stephen King describes sleeping only an hour and a half per night during trial because AI had already anticipated every contingency — letting him stay fully present for the jury instead of managing logistics in his head. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Depression. Insecurity. Seven-figure verdicts that didn't feel like enough. Michael Cowen — national trucking lawyer, trial veteran with 130+ cases, and host of his own podcast — had achieved the kind of success most lawyers dream about, and it still wasn't working for him psychologically. The turning point came when he stopped chasing a specific result and started trusting the process. In this conversation with guest host Przemek Lubecki , recorded live at TLU Huntington Beach 2026, Michael opens up about the mindset overhaul that unlocked eight-figure verdicts, the mantra he still repeats while waiting for a judge to take the bench, and the firm-wide case review system he uses to prevent his lawyers from undersettling cases. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Michael Cowen | LinkedIn ☑️ Cowen Law on Facebook , Twitter/X , LinkedIn , Instagram , & YouTube ☑️ Przemek Lubecki | LinkedIn ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot ★ Michael graduated from law school, clerked on the Fifth Circuit, and joined a big law firm in New York City. ★ After moving back to Brownsville, Texas for his future wife, Michael joined a plaintiff firm under mentor Ed Stapleton, tried four cases in his first year, and inherited his own law firm just four years out of law school. ★ Michael describes a prolonged period of cyclical depression, weight gain, and insecurity — driven by taking too much personal responsibility for case outcomes. ★ His mindset transformation came through intensive coaching with Sari De La Motte, daily use of "The Miracle Morning" routine, and a mantra about trusting judges and juries that he still repeats silently in the courtroom. ★ Michael explains that truly earning courtroom confidence requires two experiences: winning a case to prove it's possible, and losing a big one to prove you survive it. ★ At Michael's firm, no commercial-policy case is allowed to proceed to a demand or mediation until the attorney has first presented it to the full firm at their weekly Tuesday lunch — a structured review designed to prevent undersettling. ★ Michael's Big Rig Bootcamp (July 9) will feature live cross-examination demonstrations, medical testimony training, and a deep dive on why facet joint injuries treated with radiofrequency ablation are million-dollar cases. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Some lawyers find the work. Others are found by it. Patrick Kang , founder of Ace Law Group in Las Vegas, watched lawyers in suits change his family's life when he was a child — and never forgot it. When his father, a GM factory worker, had an engine fall on him, the settlement became seed money for a shoe store — and a chance at a better life. Patrick joins guest host Chris Hammons at TLU Beach. After three straight defense verdicts in 2017 nearly broke his confidence, Patrick stopped mimicking the “reptile” script and won by adapting it to his authentic style. Tune in for insights on a $15 million slip-and-fall verdict, a 15-year sexual harassment crusade, and why non-economic damages are where cases are truly won. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Patrick Kang | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook ☑️ Ace Law Group | Facebook | Instagram ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot Patrick's father, a GM factory worker, suffered a serious on-the-job injury when an engine fell on him; the resulting settlement funded a shoe store in Detroit and a move to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan — a turning point that Patrick now believes drove him toward law. After graduating from John Carroll University and Cooley Law School, Patrick moved to Las Vegas on his father's advice — the city had a fast-growing Korean population and zero Korean attorneys serving it, making him an immediate commodity at his first firm. Patrick founded Ace Law Group in June 2009 — the name chosen to work in both worlds: the Las Vegas playing card and the Korean cultural term for a standout individual. After three consecutive defense verdicts circa 2017 trying to deliver “reptile” scripts verbatim, Patrick decided to adapt the method to his own authentic style and began winning. A $15 million verdict against the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas for a slip-and-fall client who suffered a complete hamstring tear was built on non-economic damages. A 15-year personal crusade against Las Vegas sexual harassment defense culture ended with a $1.49 million jury verdict — won in part by a corroborating witness who spontaneously named the porn sites she caught the defendant doctor watching. Patrick builds client confidence heading into trial by wallpapering his office with 20 giant Post-it notes laying out the full trial plan: order of proof, key evidence etc. — then bringing clients in to see it. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Most lawyers leave legal conferences with a notebook full of ideas and no plan to use them. Mohamad Ahmad left TLU Beach 2026 having already texted his tech team to implement what he heard — and he hadn't even left the session yet. A plaintiff attorney and TLU veteran, Mohamad joins host Dan Ambrose for a candid debrief on what made this year's conference stand apart — starting with the pre-conference bootcamp, where his biggest takeaway was a surprisingly simple one: breath training. When a trial lawyer stops breathing under pressure, the jury feels it. Train the breath, and the performance becomes natural. Mohamad also breaks down the workshop he led on demonstratives and his team's lecture on extracting evidence from government agencies that routinely withhold it. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Mohamad Ahmad | LinkedIn ☑️ Kermani LLP | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot ★ Mohamad Ahmad describes TLU Beach 2026 as "the best 10 days of legal everything,” adding that he was genuinely sad when it ended. ★ His biggest takeaway from the TLU Bootcamp: breath training — when you stop thinking and just breathe, the jury senses confidence instead of tension, and your performance becomes natural. ★ Trial is like flying a plane with 25 moving parts; the bootcamp breaks each part down one at a time so that, in the courtroom, it all runs like a synchronized orchestra. ★ Mohamad led a packed workshop on demonstratives for trial: using metaphors, props, the classroom space itself — and his partner Michael Carter's principle that "you yourself are a demonstrative." ★ In a wrongful death case, Michael Carter places a casket in the courtroom "in a somber, credible way" and never violates that space — a powerful example of how physical demonstratives shape jury perception. ★ Mohamad and his team gave a lecture on extracting information from public entities — police reports, ambulance and fire records, DA files — because government agencies, by choice or incompetence, routinely withhold evidence at first try. ★ Brian Panish, in the middle of a trial that produced a $176 million compensatory verdict, showed up to TLU Beach on Saturday with a boot on his foot — a reminder that the top of the game still shows up every day. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Topgolf was warned in 2012. A risk manager photographed the exact spot, flagged it, recommended safety barriers. Almost a decade later, a nine-year-old boy was struck in that same spot at a Portland birthday party and left with a traumatic brain injury — three metal plates now holding his skull together. Anne Foster , founding member of Smith Foster King in Portland, tells guest host Chris Hammons how she built the case around a decade of ignored warnings, turned Topgolf's own marketing tagline against the blame-the-parents defense using focus groups, and forced Topgolf to pay the full verdict plus an undisclosed amount to avoid punitive damages. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Anne Foster | LinkedIn ☑️ Smith Foster King | LinkedIn ☑️ Chris Hammons | LinkedIn ☑️ Laird Hammons Laird Law | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Episode Snapshot After 25 years defending at Dunn Carney in Portland, Anne transitioned to plaintiff's work and found it transformed her career: "I found my life's dream. It wasn't just being in the courtroom, but I was actually helping to change people's lives." On Veterans Day 2021, a nine-year-old boy attending a birthday party at Topgolf Portland was struck in the head by a golf club — suffering a fractured frontal lobe requiring three permanent metal plates — when Topgolf's Bay host failed to provide the required safety tour to any of the bays that day. Philadelphia Insurance's risk manager had visited Topgolf locations as early as 2012 and recommended installing physical barriers, even photographing people standing exactly where the boy was later struck; Topgolf was told more than 10 times to put up a railing and never did, even as the chain expanded from a handful of stores to 100 locations nationwide. Anne found Topgolf's own website marketing language for kids' birthday parties — "You invite the kids, we'll take care of the rest" — and tested it in focus groups; skeptical mock jurors who had blamed the parents immediately shifted when confronted with that phrase. West Coast incident data produced in discovery showed hundreds of injuries over five years, the majority involving children, with 90% being strikes to the head and neck. To convey the brain injury's impact to the jury, Anne went beyond medical evidence — using adult family friends who were both teachers to testify about the boy's behavioral changes, and building the examination around stories she could reference visually in closing. Topgolf ultimately paid the full jury verdict plus an additional undisclosed amount rather than proceed to a punitive damages trial; the resolution followed a jury finding that the boy had done nothing wrong. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Juries tune out — so Aaron Broussard tries his cases at what he calls "TV pace or TikTok pace," sometimes putting on 10 to 15 witnesses in a single day to keep jurors awake and engaged. The Lake Charles, Louisiana trial lawyer spent his first five years as a self-described "settlement lawyer," handling roughly 200 cases his father's firm didn't want. After attending the Trial Lawyers College, he tried 30 jury trials in five years. His biggest result came this past year: a $35 million wrongful death verdict after a cement truck hit a family on their way to daycare, killing an 8 year-old girl. Broussard joins host Dan Ambrose ahead of TLU Beach to discuss the slippery settlement slope and how he redefines "reasonable" for a jury. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Aaron Broussard | LinkedIn ☑️ Broussard Knoll Law Firm | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Aaron's father, a lawyer and judge, was shot in his dominant left arm at 18 in 1968 and learned to do everything — including shooting shotguns and fishing — with his right hand. Growing up on the family farm, Aaron's father dictated each day's chores onto cassette tapes that Aaron played back on his boombox every morning. Aaron's first jury trial was a forcible rape case he won by acquittal — and his client paid him by painting the foreclosure house Aaron had just bought. After one good injury case earned his firm more money than his previous 90 cases combined, Aaron started shifting toward higher-quality cases. The Trial Lawyers College transformed Aaron's career: he tried 30 jury trials in the five years after, compared with just one before [44:30]. To stop jurors from tuning out, Aaron now runs "speed trials" at TV or TikTok pace — sometimes putting on 10 to 15 witnesses in a single day. Aaron built a written "Sprint process" for his firm designed to move cases rapidly from the filed petition straight to the first set of depositions, eliminating the bottlenecks that leave files sitting in early stages. In his record $35 million wrongful death case, Aaron asked the jury for $90 million against only a $1 million insurance policy. The "equal trade value" damages argument never rang true to Aaron — there's no equal trade for the loss of a little girl — so he now confronts the money question head-on. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Most lawyers know how to make money — but not how to keep it. Sterling Louviere , financial strategist and founder of Financial Architects , has spent about 30 years developing and applying advanced, legal tax mitigation strategies used by the “super affluent,” and he now uses these strategies to help high-earning trial lawyers reduce their tax liabilities. Sterling joins host Dan Ambrose to reveal strategies most accountants have never heard of, including why the tax system is largely voluntary, how a lawyer earning $3 million a year can cut their tax bill by at least $750,000, and why the SEP plan your accountant recommended may be the worst tool available. Don’t miss this episode for practical tax-reduction strategies, including entity structuring, family hiring, and tax-deferred investment vehicles designed to compound over time. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Sterling Louviere | LinkedIn ☑️ Financial Architects ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Most trial lawyers are excellent at making money but aren’t always given the tools to keep it. Sterling Louviere has built his business around helping attorneys close that gap through tax mitigation, asset management, and firm growth strategies. Sterling says most taxes are “voluntary” and that the super affluent use proven, legal techniques to mitigate millions in tax liability that remain largely unknown to most accountants and their clients. After earning the equivalent of $300,000 a year at age 24, Sterling ran into his own tax trouble — and that experience became the catalyst for a 30-year career studying every legal tax strategy available to high-income professionals. For lawyers earning between $1-$3 million per year, Sterling says he can reduce their tax liability by at least half — representing potential savings of $750,000 or more annually. The Augusta Rule enables homeowners to rent their personal home to their own business entity for up to 14 days per year — the income is non-taxable to the owner and deductible for the company. How to build a self-perpetuating investment fund that keeps capital working tax-deferred, allowing you to borrow against the pool for cases, real estate, or other investments without paying tax on the original income. Sterling's closing challenge: a CFO's first job is to minimize the company's tax liability — and for trial lawyers who are also business owners, that same obligation applies to their own firms. Produced and Powered by LawPods

A peaceful protester was left to bleed out in Seattle after paramedics fled the scene. Evan Oshan asked for $100 million and won $30.5 million against the city — without ever identifying the shooter. In this episode, Evan joins guest co-host Mohamad Ahmad at the TLU Beach House to break down the Antonio Mays Jr. case, including roughly $24 million in non-economic damages. He also shares how he got expelled from Hastings Law School, had the governor intervene to reinstate him, and built the solo practice that took on Seattle. Listen in to hear what it takes to defeat governmental immunity and the thing that actually drives him — it's not the money. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Evan Oshan | LinkedIn ☑️ Oshan and Associates ☑️ Mohamad Ahmad | LinkedIn ☑️ Kermani LLP | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Evan discovered he had severe dyslexia late in his college career and spent years learning through tape recordings and one-on-one conversations with professors, rather than reading. After a ruptured appendix knocked out most of his first year at Hastings, Evan returned at his father's urging, failed civil procedure, and was told "No, you're done" — until his father took the dean's letter to the governor, who got him reinstated the following year Evan struggled with the bar exam at first but eventually passed in Washington state on his first attempt there — a jurisdiction he'd chosen in part because it didn't use multiple choice, a format he found challenging. When Antonio Mays Jr., a Southern California man shot while peacefully protesting in Seattle's CHOP Zone, needed representation, nearly every other attorney had turned the case down; Evan took it anyway, despite threats made against himself and his family. A pivotal win in the case was getting past governmental immunity by establishing that city paramedics delayed the treatment of Mays Jr., which led to his death. Of the $30.5 million verdict, approximately $24 million was in non-economic damages — with no medical bills to anchor the number, only the truth of what Evan's client suffered. Evan is a sole practitioner with an upcoming case against the New York City Housing Authority involving a 2017 Harlem fire that killed six people. Produced and Powered by LawPods

“Walking into Ozaukee County and telling the jury that it was worth $40 million was completely unheard of. I mean, people thought I was crazy.” In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose , Al Foeckler sets the stage for his wrongful death case on behalf of the family of a woman who was buried alive when a retaining wall collapsed on her. In addition to the conservative nature of the jurisdiction, Al also faced Wisconsin’s rules on damages in wrongful death cases: They are capped at $350,000 for adults and $500,000 for children, so value comes through showing pain and suffering. The case turned on a counterintuitive pre-trial decision: dropping the adult children's wrongful death claims after Big Data studies predicted doing so would nearly double the pain and suffering damages. Tune in to hear how Al won $15 million. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Al Foeckler | LinkedIn ☑️ Cannon & Dunphy S.C | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | X ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot In Wisconsin, wrongful death damages for adults are capped at $350,000 and for children at $500,000, so case value is built on establishing non-economic pain and suffering damages. Al’s wrongful death case centered on a woman who died from injuries sustained after a retaining wall at the senior community where she lived collapsed on her. Six weeks before trial, the defense offered $176,000 each to the decedent’s two adult children — just over the $350,000 wrongful death cap. But if accepted, the children couldn’t testify about their loss. Rejecting it meant risking paying the defense's costs if the jury didn't beat the offer. A Big Data study showed that dropping the children's wrongful death claims would nearly double the predicted pain and suffering verdict, so Al restructured the case. When the judge barred Al's large-scale recreation of the retaining wall as a demonstrative exhibit, he relied on building the scene spatially in the courtroom instead. Al is launching lawyersinthearena.com, a plaintiffs-only newsletter featuring trial skills and war stories, and will present three workshops at TLU Beach – including a deep dive into this wall collapse case. Produced and Powered by LawPods

"Insurance bad faith cases provide an opportunity for those attorneys to get seven- or potentially eight- or even nine-figure results on cases that would otherwise be perceived as low-limit cases," says George Sidiropolis , a West Virginia trial lawyer who focuses his practice on these unique cases. In this episode recorded from TLU's recent bootcamp in Hermosa Beach, George joins host Dan Ambrose to share insights about how he holds insurance companies accountable. A must-listen episode for anyone interested in unlocking the potential of these cases. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ George Sidiropolis | LinkedIn ☑️ The Injury Right Law Firm | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot As a newly minted law school graduate, George discovered that the go-to expert witness in a major bad faith case was being prosecuted for child molestation — forcing him, with no expert-finding experience, to cold-call Gary Fye, the "godfather of unfair claims settlement practices." George ultimately earned an in-person meeting with Fye that "changed my life" and opened up the inner workings of major insurance companies. George unpacks his motorcycle double-amputation case where his client was accused of driving drunk without a helmet and crossing a center line. His trial team prevailed on a motion to exclude “11th-hour” testimony from a state police officer who said that he had watched a pole cam video showing the client driving erratically; the team reframed the officer as a hero who identified the mark in the road that the crash reconstructionalist had ignored – and that would have proven that George’s client was in his lane. The jury returned an $82 million verdict, driven in part by the "sheer horrificness" of a double amputation plus TBI. George warns of a trend in which insurance companies are using AI — including photo claim assessment software and generative AI to set reserve amounts — to adjust claims, "sometimes without an adjuster." “It’s really unhinged,” he says. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Joe Fried has a theory about why verdict values stay low in conservative states. “If there are cases where somebody's asking for $30, $50 million, and they're not getting it, I may need to listen to that. But if nobody is asking for that – if they're asking for $5 million in a wrongful death case – then of course they're not getting $30.” The celebrated trucking litigator returns to TLU to share lessons from two recent cases: a $2.3–$2.4 million verdict and a near-$100 million settlement. Tune in to this conversation with host Dan Ambrose for a masterclass in finding hidden trucking coverage, mediating at the start negotiation, and managing fear – but not getting rid of it entirely. After all, your client hired you to be their voice. “I hope you feel the weight of it.” Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Joe Fried | LinkedIn ☑️ Fried Goldberg | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | X | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Joe describes a back-to-back trial calendar year in which cases repeatedly resolved days — or even the morning — before trial. In Newport News, Joe represented the family of a teenager who was killed when the car he was riding in struck the rear corner of an illegally parked tractor-trailer. The jury returned a verdict of $2.3–2.4 million — beating the defense's pre-trial offers by roughly a million dollars. In a different case, Joe represented a 10-month-old girl who was left an incomplete quadriplegic after a truck rear-ended her 16-year-old mother's car. The life care plan was approximately $30 million – and the case settled for just under $100 million. At the upcoming TLU Beach , Joe will present on these topics: applying trucking methodologies to non-nine-figure trucking cases (Thursday); understanding his updated “speed trial” approach (Friday), and then back-to-back sessions on connecting with witnesses and covering trucking cases from the basics through advanced strategies (Saturday). Produced and Powered by LawPods

After Sach Oliver got the defense verdict, he also got the worried calls. “Oh! Oh! Oh!” His response? “I’d go do it again.” The case is under appeal, but in this conversation with host Dan Ambrose , Sach offers a deep dive into the psychology of loss as well as the way to move forward. He and Dan also preview TLU Beach , coming up from June 3 to 6 in Huntington Beach. In addition to presenting two workshops, Sach will provide 500 pounds of beef for a “Wild West” dinner on Friday night. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Sach Oliver | LinkedIn ☑️ Oliver Law Firm | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | X | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Sach describes his team’s use of “dress rehearsals” for jury selection. “We bring in, I think, about 36 people on day one, and we do a full jury selection process,” he says. Sach previews his two presentations at the upcoming TLU Beach : one with Joe Fried about common tractor trailer cases and the other on training witnesses to get the video clip – including through an innovative use of horse training techniques. Sach explains how his team evaluates the business side of a case along with other considerations. Even with that evaluation after the defense verdict in the 2025 case against the construction zone company, “I would make the same decision going forward,” he says. When Sach’s Missouri ranch is ready, he’ll host a future “Depositions Are Trial” program. He gives Dan an update on the progress of the ranch. Dan previews for the two-day Witness Preparation & Direct Examination in May and TLU Beach in June. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Two big-data studies predicted a verdict between $13 and $16 million. John Demas trusted his instincts and walked out of a Sacramento courtroom with $32 million. The case: An on-duty city detective swerved onto the freeway shoulder and killed two brothers, leaving two children without a father. John joins host Dan Ambrose to break down how he turned down a $15 million pre-close offer, spent 95% of voir dire on an "outside the box" damages framework, and opened with a Fleetwood Mac montage that had half the jury in tears. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ John Demas | LinkedIn ☑️ Demas Law Group | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot ★ John’s family emigrated from Greece to Sacramento in the early '70s; his earliest memories are selling fruits and vegetables at flea markets every weekend and summer through law school. ★ His parents steered him toward dental school so he could eventually practice in Greece, but a constitutional law class in his second year of undergrad flipped a switch. ★ After being laid off nine months into his first job, John opened his own firm at age 24 with a law school buddy. ★ The $32 million verdict was against the City of Sacramento after an on-duty police detective swerved from a freeway lane onto the shoulder, killing two brothers. ★ John ran an in-person focus group of 12 people to practice voir dire, recording it to get reps on the "outside the box" framework and the core wrongful death issues before setting foot in the courtroom. ★ In voir dire, John drew a physical box on an easel labeled "full value of the loss," then walked jurors through every outside-the-box concern — city impact, the officer's job, making kids rich, money not bringing anyone back — and addressed each one head-on. ★ In rebuttal, after the defense called the loss "immeasurable," John wrote that word on his easel and revealed that the city's suggested damages worked out to $1.50 an hour. “This is what the city thinks this loss is worth,” he told the jury. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Eric Castelblanco was helping a client navigate the immigration system when she told him about her neighbor’s slip-and-fall in their apartment building. Would he help her? Of course he would. Not only did he secure a $250,000 settlement for that client, he later took a case for 92 residents who lived in squalor at the same building. The $2.14 million settlement compelled him to switch from immigration law to habitability law. In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose , Eric reflects on how he built one of California's leading habitability practices from scratch and how he keeps the firm driven to prepare every case as if it’s going to trial. Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Eric Castelblanco | LinkedIn ☑️ Castelblanco Law Group | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Eric immigrated to the U.S. as a toddler; his family lived in nine different apartments over 12 years, giving him a firsthand understanding of what it means to be a powerless tenant. His father worked in factories and car washes before opening a small machine shop. Working for his father from age 13 "really taught me the work ethic,” he says. Eric attended Loyola Marymount University, passed the CPA exam on his first try, worked two years at KPMG, and then enrolled at Harvard Law School. After five years in corporate law, Eric left because he felt a greater kinship with the plaintiffs’ lawyers he watched in depositions. Eric's first habitability case came through an immigration client who referred him to his neighbor, who was injured from a slip-and-fall at their apartment building. That led to a $250,000 settlement.. When Eric's immigration client visited his new office to pay rent, he learned that the same management company owned her residential building — where 92 tenants lived in squalor. He mortgaged his house multiple times to fund their case and nearly went bankrupt before a $2.14 million settlement on the eve of jury selection. Castelblanco Law Group now operates with six attorneys and over 20 staff under the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which Eric credits with transforming how he holds his team accountable and maintains a long-term vision for the firm. At TLU Beach , Eric will teach a lecture and workshop on how to identify, build, value, and try habitability cases. Produced and Powered by LawPods

At age 37, Chris Hammons made it all the way to the jury level of the hit reality show “Survivor.” The jury voted him off. But more recently, two juries in a courtroom – not on an island – have voted for him in federal civil rights cases: In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose , Chris breaks down how he secured verdicts of $126 million and $2 million. Tune in as he explains why he takes on Section 1983 cases and why they’re so hard to win. “They aren't car wrecks. There isn't any negligence. You've got to prove this deliberate indifference in all these constitutional violations.” Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Chris Hammons | LinkedIn ☑️ Laird Hammons Laird Law | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Chris grew up largely on his own after his father — whom he describes as "a mountain man, but … kind of an outlaw" — went to prison when Chris was around 14. As he explains, his dad was guilty – but the system didn’t work for him. That’s why he pursued law. Chris walked on to the University of Oklahoma football program after an OU coach called his grandmother's house. He rose from walk-on to team captain of the 2000 national championship team. After law school, Chris built his personal injury practice by forgiving criminal defense clients' fees in exchange for referrals. Chris was cast on “Survivor” in 2015 at age 37; he survived 50 days on the show, reaching the jury phase. He later competed on “The Amazing Race.” The $126 million verdict involved the death of an 18-year-old girl who was struck by an off-duty police officer speeding to retrieve keys for a department event. Chris reframed what some saw as a simple car wreck into a Section 1983 civil rights case. The $126 million verdict came in on Chris' birthday, April Fools' Day, with the judge reading "18 million, 18 million, 18 million" — each category set at $18 million because Emily was 18 years old when she died. Two weeks after the $126 million verdict, Chris tried a jail death case involving a man who developed a perforated ulcer during nine days in jail. He secured a $2 million verdict. Produced and Powered by LawPods

Vancouver-based trial lawyer Robyn Wishart also studied neurology – a discipline that she leverages in the courtroom to get more from witnesses. “I think neuroscience and being able to control our emotions and our brain can lead us on a way, on a path that can move our clients into forgetting that they're in a courtroom and being able to deliver the story,” she explains to host Dan Ambrose . Tune in to learn why she uses a questioning technique called “clean language” to get at what a witness really means behind what they’re saying. She will teach that technique at TLU Beach . Train and Connect with the Titans ☑️ Robyn Wishart | LinkedIn ☑️ Wishart Brain & Spine Law | X | Facebook | Instagram ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach , June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot Robyn grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she escaped the cold through volleyball — playing five years at the University of British Columbia before turning pro. Before law school, Robyn spent four years studying neuroscience at the University of Winnipeg and UBC, where she learned how visualization and attention control translate directly to courtroom performance. Robyn is the only Canadian trial lawyer ever to have taught at the American Association for Justice. Robyn was chosen by 250 professional athletes to be their voice in the Canadian Football League's CTE concussion litigation. The first test case centered on former wide receiver Arland Bruce. In arbitration, her team had no discovery and couldn’t do a deposition. “I got on-my-feet admissions I would never have gotten had I not put the work in,” she says. Robyn explains that "clean language" is a questioning technique that removes a lawyer's assumptions and redirects focus entirely to what a witness truly wants to say, using the witness's own metaphors to draw out deeper, more powerful testimony. Robyn argues that if lawyers leave deposition techniques at the door of the courtroom, they are leaving critical information on the table — the very information a jury needs to understand negligence and damages. Produced and Powered by LawPods