California (CA) Skills CLE Course Catalog

Drawing upon the timeless insights of Aristotle, Cicero and modern practitioners like Bono, Peter Afrasiabi reveals the secrets of persuasion that you can start using today in your practice (and your life) to make you a compelling advocate for the people and the causes you champion.

Veteran litigator Andrew Struve shares his list of things lawyers should take care not to do if they want to avoid pissing off the judges hearing their matters. The insights range from the obvious (if you stop to think about them) to the very subtle (including some that only the most experienced litigators know) and his guidance will be highly beneficial for all litigators – whether you’ve been practicing for 20 minutes or 20 years. The program includes a handy checklist of 30 things you should never do in court that you’ll find yourself consulting again and again as you prepare for each new court appearance.

Being an expert negotiator in all settings begins with developing versatile negotiation techniques that can be adapted to fit any scenario. Over the past few years, honing these skills has become even more critical as the landscape of the workforce has shifted to a hybrid environment. During this informative hour, discover what it takes to be an expert negotiator in a virtual world, boardroom, and beyond.

In today's fast-paced work environment, the ability to manage up and inspire down can give you a significant advantage in communicating effectively and advancing your legal career. This session will provide you with practical tools and strategies to become a more effective communicator and build positive relationships with your colleagues and managers. Our expert panelists will cover important topics such as active listening, giving and receiving feedback, conflict resolution and building trust.

Despite the old saying, facts do not speak for themselves. People must speak for them. Further, humans learn and store information by stories, not by recitation of facts. Juror persuasion happens when the right story is told the right way. Join nationally respected trial consultant Rich Matthews for an exploration of the crucial but often undervalued part that the right witness with the right preparation plays in moving jurors to vote your way.

Whether you’ve won or lost in the trial court, winning your case on appeal requires an entirely different approach in terms of your strategy and the mechanics of presenting your case to the appellate court. Pivoting successfully from trial court to appellate litigator can make the difference between losing and winning your appeal. Peter Afrasiabi, Co-Director of the Appellate Practice Clinic at the UC Irvine School of Law and the Appellate Practice Chair at One LLP, guides you through the strategic decisions you need to make and the practical steps you need to follow to file, brief, argue and win your next appeal.

Whether you’ve won or lost in the trial court, winning your case on appeal requires an entirely different approach in terms of your strategy and the mechanics of presenting your case to the appellate court. Pivoting successfully from trial court to appellate litigator can make the difference between losing and winning your appeal. Peter Afrasiabi, Co-Director of the Appellate Practice Clinic at the UC Irvine School of Law and the Appellate Practice Chair at One LLP, provides sage advice on how to prepare for and present your oral argument to an appellate court to help you win your next appeal.

The world’s best advocates – starting with Cicero and carrying forward to the most skilled orators of today – use storytelling and credibility to make arguments that persuade and move their audiences. Because law schools and many law firms don’t teach or reward these polestars of advocacy, many lawyers lack these critical skills. This program in advanced advocacy teaches you how to become a gifted and credible storyteller capable of crafting truly compelling arguments on behalf of your clients.

Have you ever thought about getting an MBA? Save your time and money! In this series of programs, “Hack my MBA for Lawyers,” practicing lawyers who hold MBA’s take key concepts from the MBA curriculum that have real value for practicing lawyers, teach them to you in an engaging way and show how to apply them in your practice using real-world hypotheticals.