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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, February 25, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will offer guidance to defense attorneys planning and creating their own opening statements when anticipating and responding to reptile-themed plaintiff's opening statements. Attendees will learn the art and science of crafting, structuring, and delivering compelling opening statements to impact today’s jury and the juror brain.

Faculty

Bill Kanasky
Senior Vice President
Courtroom Sciences, Inc

Dr. Kanasky, Jr., Ph.D. is Senior Vice President of Litigation Psychology for Courtroom Sciences, Inc. and a nationally recognized expert, author, and speaker in the areas of advanced witness training and jury psychology in civil litigation. He consults on more than 200 cases annually in the areas of defendant witness training, early case assessment, jury decision-making research, and jury selection strategy. Dr. Kanasky empirically based consulting methods are specially designed to defeat plaintiff “Reptile” and Edge strategies, which have resulted in billions of dollars of damage awards across the nation. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his Ph.D. in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Florida.

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Description

Attendees will be shown common mistakes made in openings and how to avoid these errors, plus the psychology behind why certain openings work and others fall flat. Attendees who complete this course will understand what resonates with a jury and what elements are required for a compelling opening statement.

Listen as Dr. Bill Kanasky, Jr. shares the art and science of crafting, structuring, and delivering compelling opening statements.

Outline

  1. Biggest miscues and mistakes made in opening statements
  2. Persuading the jury
  3. Primacy and recency effects
  4. Damages
  5. Storytelling
  6. Plaintiff Reptile Theory
  7. Examples of effective and ineffective openings

Benefits

Dr. Kanasky, Jr. will discuss these and other key issues:

  • Understanding common mistakes made by the defense in opening statements
  • Understanding and applying the psychology concepts of primacy, recency, cognitive lens, and availability bias
  • Understanding and leveraging the power of storytelling in opening statements and structuring information and delivery to resonate with today’s jurors
  • Understanding, with specific examples, the difference between effective and ineffective opening statements and applying the learned concepts at trial