Roger J Dodd teaches at most clinics with co-teachers who are experienced trial lawyers. Meet the instructors here.

Professional improv actors are another critical key to this unique learning experience. They can be quickly directed by the instructors during a performance or exercise resulting in a dramatic increase in each participant’s skill, abilities, and confidence.

One note: We are all trial lawyers. Judges set trials, we do not. We do everything we can to avoid trial conflicts with any clinic, but it happens. As soon as we know we have a potential conflict, we will notify you of the conflict and proposed dates to reschedule the clinic. Please take this into account before making travel arrangements.

Each trial lawyer views, hears, and feels trials and cross-examinations differently. Those differences must be recognized and embraced. We need to build our skills to be able to acknowledge differences and be trained to deal with those differences. Each instructor will stress different points of instruction. We do our best to provide instructors of varied genders and background experiences to provide you with the best possible experience.

The improv actors are one of the critical keys to this unique learning experience. When lawyers play a witness they never play it realistically. If the witness is not realistic, the training is fatally flawed; the training does not educate as it needs to. In fact, it creates bad or worse habits.

Professional actors, especially with improv experience, play roles for a living. Improv experience means the the actors do not follow a script; rather they react as the witness would react. While we always insist on a realistic presentation, the range of emotions, effects, and personalities of these professionals are amazing.

Just as importantly, the improv actors can be quickly directed by the instructors during a performance or exercise to account for our participants’ dramatic increases in skill over the two days of the clinic. 

Both male and female actors present challenges to a trial lawyer, but they are different challenges. Males and females see, hear, and experience a trial differently. Not only are the actors’ appearance and performances different, but the trial lawyer’s reaction to them varies. This changes not just one important variable, but multiple variables — therefore multiplying the learning challenges and the learning experience.

A quick example:

During a clinic, a talented and skilled female lawyer was routinely dispatching a male actor with almost mechanical precision. However, when she took on a female actor, things did not go as well. That actor was directed to show confusion that led to frustration, followed by quiet tears — no wailing, just quiet tears. This talented lawyer tried multiple times to continue the cross. before she just stopped, broke character, and said, “I cannot do this.”  We have all felt that way while in real court.

Immediately after the cross, the actors, instructors, and the rest of the group discussed their feelings with the lawyer. It was agreed the lawyer would try the same cross again, after absorbing the discussion and watching a few other crosses. On the next round, the lawyer nailed it against the same actor, even though the actor made it even more challenging. The actors were key to making that breakthrough possible.