What Trial Lawyers Need to Know to Make the Transition to Online Trials

Welcome to the Primerus Webinar Series. As we navigate these new waters together without in-person meetings, we want to do all we can to ensure you still benefit from the Primerus knowledge base. If you would like to present or have a topic suggestion, please contact Chad Sluss at csluss@primerus.com.

What Trial Lawyers Need to Know to Make the Transition to Online Trials

Presented by: John Brydon and Richard Gabriel

Trial courts are reopening, and some civil jury trials have started. Trial judges are experimenting with the use of online technologies and conducting voir dire using online video services and video conferencing witnesses. In Alameda County, California two personal injury asbestos trials are under way. In-person trials may become a thing of the past and trial lawyers will be faced with the challenges of communicating with jurors remotely and dealing with witnesses who may not be physically present in the courtroom. This webinar will present an overview of how some courts are using remote technology in civil trials, the legal challenges being made and what lawyers should know about adapting to these inevitable changes. Richard Gabriel is a nationally known trial consultant who is currently spearheading The Online Courtroom Project that includes a prestigious group of trial consultants, retired judges and trial attorneys to study the use of remote technologies in trial, litigation and ADR. The Online Courtroom Project has conducted and reported on the results of a complete online demonstration trial. John Brydon is an attorney with over 40 years of trial experience and is monitoring two California civil jury trials currently using remote technologies to try preference asbestos personal injury cases. Remote trials are a reality. Trial lawyers and their firms need to adapt to these changes or else face the harsh reality of being left behind.

Live Interactive Q&A – Bring/Submit Your Questions

Time will be reserved to answer specific questions from attendees and we encourage those in attendance to come with questions prepared. If you would like specific questions addressed, you are invited to submit questions in advance to Katie Bundyra at kbundyra@primerus.com.

About Richard Gabriel

Richard Gabriel is the President of Decision Analysis. Since 1985, Richard has been a leader in the field of jury research, jury selection, and litigation communication in more than a thousand trials in both the civil and criminal arenas across the country. Richard has assisted counsel in thousands of cases across the country, including the O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony, Aaron Hernandez, Phillip Spector, Whitewater, and Enron Broadband trials, among others. Three cases he has participated in have resulted in United States Supreme Court rulings.

Richard is the author of Acquittal: An Insider Reveals the Stories and Strategies Inside Today’s Most Infamous Verdicts which was optioned by Warner Brothers and developed by Jerry Bruckheimer productions into a one-hour network drama. He is also the co-author of Jury Selection: Strategy and Science, printed by Thompson-Reuters Publications and now in its Third Edition, as well as a contributor to Bennett’s Guide to Jury Selection and Trial Dynamics.

Richard is a former President of the American Society of Trial Consultants and has been on numerous committees to study litigation and trial issues with American Bar Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, National Center for State Courts, The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, and Civil Jury Project at NYU Law School. He is the inventor of the Jury Mediation system and appears regularly on CNN and other network and cable shows as a commentator on high profile trials.

About John Brydon

John R. Brydon is an AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates for nearly 25 years, and a Certified Specialist in Civil Trial Law and Diplomat of the National Board of Trial Advocacy for over 20 years. Mr. Brydon has also been rated and included by his peers in the Super Lawyer selection process for nearly a decade.

With over 35 years of experience, Mr. Brydon has successfully defended and tried to verdict many high-exposure complex personal injury, product liability, insurance coverage and bad faith trials throughout California and around the country, including cases involving issues of punitive damage exposure for major corporate and insurer defendants. He has been included on the national trial teams of several corporate clients and has been admitted pro hac vice as trial counsel in multiple jurisdictions.