Cliff Harrison spoke in November at the annual American Conference Institute’s Seminar on Trucking Litigation. He spoke on various techniques to keep a lid on damages when defending lawsuits involving serious injuries, including brain damage and death. He also presented this topic in October at a webinar sponsored by the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Cliff Harrison will once again speak at the National Forum on Defending and Managing Trucking Litigation.  This year’s conference will be held on November 29 and 30, 2012 in Atlanta, and is sponsored by the American Conference Institute.  Cliff will speak on the topic of selecting the appropriate experts for a trucking case, including biomechanical, technical, operational, economic, and sleep apnea experts.  He will also lead a break-out session on the defense of brain injury cases.

On February 8, 2012 Lee Wertz presented a continuing legal education seminar entitled “A Primer on Herniated Discs:  Defending a Herniated Disc Claim” to the monthly meeting of the Woodlands Bar Association. The seminar included a discussion of the anatomy of the spine, the science of disc herniation, and a practical approach to preparing biomechanical and medical experts.

Cliff Harrison will be speaking at the American Conference Institute’s National Forum on Trucking Litigation.  The annual conference, which is being held in Orlando Florida in December, features some of the country’s leading trial lawyers and trucking specialists, as well as many key representatives from the trucking and transportation industry.  Cliff will speak about effective strategies for winning a trucking case and will also conduct an interactive master class on preparing and presenting company representatives for deposition.

In August, 2011 Lee Wertz and Cliff Harrison presented a continuing education course approved by the Texas Department of Insurance to adjusters with Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri.  The seminar included issues relating to changes in Texas law, Medicare reimbursement and set-asides, and the art and science of defending personal injury claims.

Once again, Stephan D. Selinidis will be giving a multi-day presentation on law school success tactics for Law Preview, LLC.  One of Law Preview’s goals is to provide incoming law school students across the country with a strategic “game-plan” for law school success.  Mr. Selinidis’s presentation will lay out that game-plan by providing an overview of the law school experience and an introduction to the skills necessary to perform at a high level, which are often quite different from the skills used throughout an undergraduate education.  The topics covered include case-briefing, time management, outlining, surviving the Socratic Method, note-taking, and study skills.

In August, 2010, Cliff Harrison was honored to join the faculty of the prestigious IADC Trial Academy, held annually at Stanford Law School.  Cliff joined thirteen other distinguished faculty members from around the country for an intensive, hands on, seminar in which nearly 100 young lawyers from across the country honed their trial skills by actually trying various cases, and by watching the faculty try an actual case.  The Trial Academy is sponsored by the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Mitch McFarland was a speaker at the DRI Product Liability Conference – “The Masters of Product Liability Litigation: The Stars Come Out to Shine” in Las Vegas, NV from April 7 – 9, 2010.  Mr. McFarland spoke on “The Jury is Listening: Things You Don’t Know but think You Do.”

The Defense Research Institute is an international organization of attorneys defending the interests of business and individuals in civil litigation.

The Products Liability Committee is one of the largest and most active committees within DRI. The committee is comprised of 18 Specialized Litigation Groups (SLG). As the name suggests, each SLG is focused on either a specific type of product, group of products or particular issues within products liability law. With over 3200 members the Products Liability Committee is as diverse as the practice areas it encompasses.

For the second year in a row, Stephan D. Selinidis will be giving a multi-day presentation on law school success tactics for Law Preview, LLC. One of Law Preview’s goals is to provide incoming law school students across the country with a strategic “game-plan” for law school success. Mr. Selinidis’s presentation will lay out that game-plan by providing an overview of the law school experience and an introduction to the skills necessary to perform at a high level, which are often quite different from the skills used throughout an undergraduate education. The topics covered include case-briefing, time management, outlining, surviving the Socratic Method, note-taking, and study skills.

Mitch McFarland and Rick Staff will speak at the Advanced Civil Trial Seminar course to be held in San Antonio (July 21 – 23), Dallas (August 25 – 27) and Houston (October 20 -22) on “Proving Difficult Damages.” Rick will be handling the lecture in San Antonio and Mitch will appear in Dallas and Houston.

The Advanced Civil Trial Seminar is the premier civil trial CLE program in Texas and is co-sponsored by TexasBar CLE and the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Stephan D. Selinidis will be giving a multi-day presentation on law school success tactics for Law Preview, LLC. One of Law Preview’s goals is to provide incoming law school students across the country with a strategic “game-plan” for law school success. Mr. Selinidis’s presentation will lay out that game-plan by providing an overview of the law school experience and an introduction to the skills necessary to perform at a high level, which are often quite different from the skills used throughout an undergraduate education. The topics covered include case-briefing, time management, outlining, surviving the Socratic Method, note-taking, and study skills.

An article by Mitch McFarland appears in the Summer 2009 edition of Litigation magazine published by the ABA Litigation Section.  In the article titled “Big Numbers” Mr. McFarland details the fictional case of Astrostaff, a Texas PEO that sued its insurance broker, Black & White, when it found that it had been defrauded on the purchase of workers compensation insurance.  The article details the manner by which a party may obtain lost profits and the proof necessary for such claims.

Mitch McFarland was a speaker at the University of Houston Law Foundation seminar on “How to Offer and Exclude Evidence” in Dallas on April 24, 2009.  Mr. McFarland spoke on “Proving difficult damages including lost profits.”  He spoke at the same seminars on July 10th and July 17th as well.

Mitch McFarland and Cliff Harrison were speakers at the University of Houston Law Foundation seminar on “How to Offer and Exclude Evidence” in Dallas on March 7-8, 2008 and Houston March 13-14, 2008.  Mr. McFarland spoke on “Proving difficult damages including lost profits.”  Cliff Harrison spoke on the hearsay rule.

On February 28, 2008, Carrie Schadle presented a seminar for the Houston Bar Association’s continuing legal education program discussing general contractor and premises owner liability in personal injury and wrongful death cases.  The seminar discussed the basics of premises liability lawsuits and some recent case law of interest in the area.  She will present the seminar again for the Brazoria County Bar Association on June 13, 2008.

An article by Cliff Harrison appeared in the December 2007 issue of the Texas Bar Journal.  In it he analyzed the risks associated with invoking Rule 167 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.  Under this fairly recent rule, a party can recover its litigation costs, including its attorneys’ fees, if it makes an offer of settlement that is rejected by the other party, and the offering party ultimately prevails at trail.  The rule applies to all general tort, negligence, and commercial cases filed after January 1, 2004.  Mr. Harrison discussed, among other things, how it is important to utilize the rule properly, as otherwise, the risk to the rejecting party may increase well beyond the already present risk of an adverse judgment.  The full text of the article can be found on the Texas Bar website at www.texasbar.com.