Associate Attorney Update: Associate Jarred Culpepper recently completed the American Bar Association 35th Annual Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute
Associate Attorney Jarred Culpepper recently traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, to attend the American Bar Association 35th Annual Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute. The Trial Advocacy Institute is an eight-day intensive program from July 21 to July 29, 2023, created to teach and perfect skills for trial. The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law hosted the event this year.
Attorneys of all ages, skill level, and experience traveled from as far as Seattle, Chicago, New York, and South Dakota for the program. The program taught the basics and intricacies of direct and cross examination, opening and closing statements, knowing when and how to use exhibits in a trial, and overall trial strategy. The program also brought in real psychologists to help the participants understand the nuances of a custodial evaluation report, and how to examine an expert witness in trial. The program also brought in real CPA’s with experience in business valuation to teach the participants about business valuation reports, and the methods behind business valuations.
Each day consisted of a mix of lectures and break-out groups to practice particular skills for that day. The participants had to build each piece of a trial throughout the week, and add to their overall plan and strategy as new topics were covered each day. Trial partners were assigned, and each trial pair had a pre-trial conference with their judges at the end of the week. Trial partners also met with one of the CPA’s that would be their expert witness for their trial. They met to prepare testimony for trial, but to also discuss and learn from the CPA what the important issues of the business valuation were.
The week finally concluded with a simulated trial against another pair of participants. The participants all worked from the same fact pattern that contained deposition transcripts, exhibits to use in trial, a custodial evaluation report, and a business valuation report. Each pair represented either the plaintiff or defendant in the fact pattern, and had to put together what they learned throughout the week to navigate a full, but abbreviated, trial.
