Giorgio Panagos

Giorgio Panagos

CONNECTION is the not-so-secret sauce of every big verdict/great trial lawyer. It is not an art, it is not something some people are born with and others are not. Connecting is a skill that can be learned and mastered. Like all complex skills that one is seeking to learn and master, it has to
be broken down into its component parts, its micro-skills, which have to be identified, isolated, and practiced. The micro-skills of connection are; eye contact, emotional state control(facial expressions) voice control, hand movement/gestures, body movement, glance control, word choice, creating space, and being KIND. Classes are limited to six participants.
We will be learning, practicing, and mastering these skills.

There will be three Zoom meet ups before the event to prepare.

This is a one-day class.

Testimonials:

“I left the program more comfortable making eye contact with people as a presenter as well as a listener. While sitting as a member of our practice jury, I had a tendency of looking away, looking down, and closing my eyes when the presenter would attempt to make a connection with me. This will help me not only as a trial lawyer but also in my everyday interactions with the people around me.”

-Derick Runion, Curiel & Runion Personal Injury Lawyers

"Before this program, I talked fast because I didn’t want to bore my listener and I wanted to get out everything I had to say before I forgot anything. However, once we watched ourselves on video, I realized that speaking slowly gives jurors time to process what I'm saying and looks more professional.”

-Jose Robles, Robles Babaee Personal Injury Lawyers

Giorgio Panagos

The bootcamp will start in Huntington Beach on Sunday, June 2, and goes until Tuesday, June 4. The combo ticket includes the TLU Live HB ticket, June 5, 6, 7, and 8.

TLU Trial Skills Bootcamp is an intensive where participants will exponentially improve their presentation, cross-examination, and voir dire skills. Video replay will be used throughout. To master any complex skill it must be broken down to its fundamentals (micro-skills). The micro skills must be identified, isolated, and practiced to the point of unconscious competence. The micro-skills of persuasion are:

1. Appropriate eye contact

2. Voice control

3. Hand/body movement

4. Emotional control

5. Glance control

6. Creating space

7. Word selection

8. Listening

Participants will practice these skills in the context of voir dire, opening statement and cross-examination.

Testimonials:

"The TLU bootcamps are great. Solid tools to help you see your blind spots in how you are coming across to the jury. You are forced to see yourself as a presenter, and given tools to present more effectively to the jury. The bootcamps have helped me become a better storyteller by helping me build habits so my countenance and postures don't come across as forced, but as natural extensions of my client's story."

-Robert Buzzard, Ayala, Morgan & Buzzard

"I believe that participating in the TLU bootcamps has been the single most beneficial investment that I have made in myself as a trial lawyer. It provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to work on everything from jury connection to storytelling within the courtroom and the confines of a case. I don't believe that the skills taught in this program are available anywhere else, and any lawyer who is serious about trial work MUST make this investment in yourself."

-Doug Zanes, Zanes Law

Nick Rowley · Susie Injijian · Giorgio Panagos · Jordan Strovosky · Tanya Gomerman

Susie Injijian & Giorgio Panagos - Maximizing Recovery by Never Losing Sight of the Jury

Gary Mountain & Susan Mountain v. DP Electric, et al. and David Perez & Donna Perez v.

David Perez, an experienced electrician, suffered severe burns on a service call when the switchgear he was operating exploded in his face. Gary Mountain, an employee of the business Perez was servicing, was also burned. Mountain sued Perez for causing the arc flash explosion. Perez then sued the landlord, property manager, and tenant for negligently installing and maintaining the switchgear.

The landlord and property manager settled with plaintiff Mountain and joined forces against Perez. Following a nine-week Zoom trial and four hours of deliberations, the jury returned a unanimous jury verdict for Perez in this no-offer case. The jury found that the sole cause of the explosion was the negligent maintenance by the property owner and managers and awarded $25,500,000 in non-economic damages to the Perezes, including $5,000,000 in damages for loss of consortium.

Teaching Points:

As we learned during this Zoom trial, where every juror’s live portrait was always right in our field of vision, the subtlest reactions of our jurors were critical real-time feedback that could and did shape our strategy through the trial. We will talk about:

1. How to read your jury in an in-person trial to the same effect, so that your jury is your ultimate focus group.
2. How to use the jury pool and the final 12 selected to dictate your trial themes, tone and presentation styles.
3. How to use subtle juror feedback effectively to modify liability theories as trial progresses, and even decide whether to let any defendants out of the case.
4. Why the particular jurors you focus on most have to be different in voir dire, opening statement, and closing argument.
5. How to tailor your ask to the particular demands of your jury, to get your deserving clients a spectacular result.

Jordan Strokovsky - $26M Medical Malpractice Verdict for Leg Amputation

In this case, the plaintiff was a young man who had his leg amputated at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, because his doctors failed to timely diagnose and treat his ruptured popliteal artery. Shortly before trial, the hospital offered to settle the case for $3M and essentially threatened to tie the case up on appeal in the event the case went to verdict.The hospital admitted liability on the eve of trial for strategic purposes as an attempt to minimize the amount awarded for damages.The ultimate recovery for this case was $30.3M, and the hospital would end up announcing systemic changes as a result of this verdict which will hopefully benefit malpractice victims.

Teaching Points:

1. Reframing a case when the defense admits liability on the eve of trial;

2. Obtaining an eight-figure non-economic damages award when you can’t ask for a specific number in Pennsylvania courts;

3. Taking away all credibility from defendant’s main expert within the first minute of cross examination;

4. Handling defense counsel’s made up, and drastically reduced, life care plan in rebuttal argument.