Course List

Quick question. Why did you become an attorney? Many of us chose the legal profession as a noble calling to help people. But what happens when you deal with other people’s problems… ninety hours a week, 51 weeks a year??

Trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue are all too often part of our daily legal practice. In this CLE, Brian Quinn will explore the connection between compassion fatigue that attorneys experience and medial & legal studies that have discovered a dramatic increase in attorney impairment due to alcoholism, addiction, and mental health disorders. Main subjects covered: LAP (Lawyer Assistance Program) Services, Burnout & Secondary Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, Why Lawyers are at Risk and Strategies That Work, Model Rule 1.6, the ethical disclosure exception, being a problem collector, physical signs of burnout, the culture of the legal profession, disconnection & distraction, loneliness, lawyers as perfectionists, Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), trauma, countertransference, compassion fatigue & satisfaction, zealot to zombie, how your legal work suffers, gratitude journals and using meditation apps.

Brian S. Quinn, Esquire is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania who currently serves as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for LLC of Pennsylvania, a Lawyers Assistance Program established for the purpose of helping lawyers, judges and law students.

Moneyball. A book written about the Oakland A’s because their organization was the first to utilize research and analytics in baseball to achieve tremendous success on a limited budget. “Moneyball” has since crossed over into numerous industries — and now it’s available for trial lawyers.

How often does opposing counsel take cases to trial? What is your judge’s summary judgement record? How can analytics help you write more persuasive motions? How can legal information make you a better lawyer? Attorney Nicole Clark will show you how legal research, data & analytics can help you win your cases in state trial court. Main topics: Judge Analytics & Ruling History, Case Valuation & Verdict Data, Strategic State Trial Court Research & Alerts and Law Firm Intelligence. Additional subjects: potential risks of re-assignment, litigation & motion strategy, discussing case strategy with your client & setting expectations, the 4 Buckets of Data (1) Rulings (2) Dockets (3) Documents (4) Verdicts, rulings as outlines for motions, searching filed documents via legal issue, motion type & outcome, expert testimony, jury instructions, motions to disqualify and good faith settlements.

Nicole A. Clark is an attorney and the co-founder and CEO of Trellis. She previously worked as a litigator, where she quickly realized that leveraging legal research, data and analytics could transform the practice of law.

If it’s natural… it’s safe. Dietary supplements don’t interact with other drugs. And the labels for dietary supplements will accurately list all ingredients. True or False??

Yes, the myths abound when it comes to Nutraceuticals, also known as dietary supplements. Taught by Toxicologist Dr. Allison Muller, this CLE provides insight into dietary supplements & legal claims based on actual legal cases straight from her case files. Dr. Muller will mainly: describe the role of the FDA in regulating dietary supplements, compare & contrast adulterants vs. contaminants, list 2 dietary supplement-drug interactions, identify 1 dietary supplement that can cause impairment and explain how dietary supplements can give a positive drug screen result. Dr. Muller will also discuss: non-drugs, homeopathic treatments, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), product liability, false advertising (mislabeling), workplace impairment, existing medical conditions and Cannabidiols (CBD).

Dr. Muller is a board-certified toxicologist, fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, and registered pharmacist with over 20 years’ experience in the field of clinical toxicology.

For better - or worse - many people's perceptions of attorneys are based on Elle Woods, Atticus and everybody's favorite cousin, Vinny. From Philadelphia to The Firm, the movies we watch dominate the public?s perceptions of real attorneys.

But is there something these fictional characters can teach us about professionalism and achieving higher standards of conduct in our everyday conduct? Ron E. Daniels will highlight professional - and unprofessional - conduct displayed by some of our favorite big screen movie characters to teach us how we can practice with greater professionalism. Ron will use the Georgia Lawyer's Creed to show how you can enhance your service to your clients, opposing parties & their counsel, the courts, colleagues in the practice of law, the profession, the public & our systems of justice. Movies & characters discussed include: Joe Miller in Philadelphia, Fletcher Reede in Liar Liar, Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mitch McDeere in The Firm, Rudy Baylor in The Rainmaker and Vincent Gambino in My Cousin Vinny.

Ron E. Daniels is a trial attorney that represents clients in consumer protection cases. He fiercely and proudly represent Georgians in cases involving credit card, student loan and medical debt.

Surviving prison as an innocent person is a surreal nightmare no one wants to think about. But it can happen to you - and those you love.

Justin Brooks has spent his career freeing innocent people from prison. Putting you at the defense table, this CLE forces us to consider how any one of us might be swept up in the legal system. From bad IDs to people telling lies, Justin provides the main reasons that people are wrongfully convicted and he offers detailed accounts of the cases he has worked on. Main topics: bad lawyering, differences in police work in the city vs. the country, you come home & find your partner dead, false confessions, junk science, Shaken Baby Syndrome, you have or care for a sick child, the jury is blinded by junk science, bad information from informants, and you are poor and/or a person of color. Additional topics: bite mark evidence, bad crime scene preservation, Relative Opinion Process, Cross-Racial Identifications, problems with Police line-ups, DNA testing & database, the Reid Technique, the CSI Effect, the McMartin Pre-School case and the Brian Banks case.

Professor Justin Brooks directs the LLM Program in Comparative Law in Spanish at the USD School of Law. As the program director, he administers a national moot court program in Mexico, and coordinates the work of 35 innocence organizations in Latin America.