Thank you for generously sharing your trial experience and wisdom with my dad and me. I’m proud to report that a Maricopa County jury unanimously awarded a $21,000,000 verdict, including $10,500,000 in punitives. Very unusual for such a conservative jurisdiction, especially against such a powerful and wealthy defendant. The case has been ongoing for the better part of a decade.
Although the credit is my dad’s for working up a case and outlawyering the defense lawyers (who outnumbered us 8-to-1), we watched the recordings of the Ingham trial and studied our Lanier Trial Academy notes like crazy. Your language on punitives is powerful!!! We can’t wait to learn more at this year’s event.
Thanks again, and we’ll see you in September!
– Joe Casey
Thank you for your seminar and the examples you set. I used so many of your suggestions from last year’s program and from watching your St. Louis case on courtroom network. But one of the personal things I noticed about you, whether at trial or in the seminar or hosting a tour of your chapel, is that you have a natural gift of enthusiasm about the subject you are addressing that is contagious. So, one of the things I really tried to do at my trial was keep a level of enthusiasm in all that I did from start to finish. I used a wide variety of different demonstratives to keep the jurors’ attention, make points, and frame the issues, including writing on the ELMO to capture key testimony. My crosses were energetic conversations about our favorable evidence.
Throughout the trial, there was not one dozing juror. No signs of boredom. Every time I looked at them, they were paying attention and writing notes. They had almost three dozen questions for many of the witnesses (allowed in Arizona). When the parties’ counsel interviewed the jurors after their verdict, the jurors uniformly said they “loved” the trial, found the case fascinating, and were so grateful this was the case on which they served as jurors. “Lanier Enthusiasm” works!
See you in September! We are already booked.
– Timothy J. Casey
“I always learn something when I listen to Mark, and I truly enjoyed the program and got some great nuggets to take into my next battle. Not only that, it was truly enjoyable and the time flew by—not something typical of CLE programs.”
“What a great seminar”
“This is the best seminar I have been to in decades.”
“I wanted to thank you for the great program – marvelous job in all respects.”
“Mark had a great way of explaining how he uses facts that can hurt his case to make it stronger.”
“This trial academy is just what I needed to perfect my trial strategy. Can’t wait to attend again next year.”
“The whole seminar was excellent. Mark went from A-Z with which cases to pick, filing suit, depos, and the trial process.”
“Cannot wait for next year’s event.”
“I just wanted to thank you for sharing yourself with us. I am grateful to you and will be returning every year – next time with my whole team.
-Ben J. Coughlan, Esq.
“I attended your recent Trial Academy in Houston and I can say, with certainty, that it was the best conference I’ve ever attended.”
-Keller A. Caubarreaux
“Because of your method for punitive damages, my partner and I were able to secure the largest pain and suffering verdict in GA history ($75m).”
-Drew Ashby
“Today- I am putting together my first ever PowerPoint and in doing so, we realized that we had improperly named one of the defendants. I never would have caught this without putting this together. The process of putting it in a presentation is helping me streamline, simplify, and understand this case. I think I am going to do this in every case- all the time, whether or not I am actually going to be making a presentation.”
-Spencer Marc Aronfeld, Esq.
“Lanier’s trial Academy is the finest seminar I have ever attended. It is a must for any trial lawyer at any stage of practice.
I just received an $11.6M verdict in Alabama because of the strategies and tactics directly attributable to the seminar.”
– Robert T. Dassow
After attending the first trial academy, I completely revamped how I tried cases with everything I learned. My last two trials resulted in a verdict 31 times the offer and another 9 times the offer. I can honestly say this is almost entirely due to the Lanier Trial Academy.
The first verdict (31 times original offer) was the largest bar fight verdict in Illinois state history. For the second verdict (9 times original offer), the jury gave the highest pain and suffering award in an MVA in county history.
I now use slides in opening and closing. We used the ELMO, the double wide and so many other tools that were introduced at the seminar.
All 12 jurors stayed and talked with our trial team for nearly 2 hours after the verdict. Not a single juror left. The jurors wanted to know how we learned the mechanics of how to set up the courtroom, the order we called witnesses, how we created slides, diagrams etc. I told the jurors someone a lot smarter and better than us taught us how to do it.
Everything the jurors asked about and were excited about were tactics I learned at the Lanier Trial Academy. They were excited to have been on the jury, they were proud of their verdict. They genuinely left the courthouse with a good feeling.
My co-counsel in this case came to trial academy for the first time last year. When we left the courthouse yesterday, he was shocked at how effective everything was and the jurors reaction to the methods.
Pre-trial offer was $90k. Verdict was for $810,480.51.
Deliberations lasted 1.5 hours.
Lanier Trial Academy has paid for itself many times over.
Thank you for taking the time and putting on such a great program. I have learned more there about how to try a case and what works than I have from all my mentors combined.
– Jeff Green
“Thank you for giving plaintiffs’ attorneys a very useful teaching seminar in The Woodlands. It is deeply appreciated.”
“Mr. Lanier is a great speaker. He presented invaluable information in a very entertaining and understandable way.”
“The Lanier seminar was superb. You guys did a fabulous job. Looking forward to a repeat performance next year.”
“It’s always a privilege to get a chance to hear Mark speak—last week was particularly a special treat. Mark and his team put on a wonderful CLE program, and I know everyone in attendance was blessed to be a part of it.”
“As always, Mark and his team put on an A-Class program.”
“The event was engaging, informative and well organized. Hats off to you and your team.”
“We can’t wait for next year.”
“Last summer, you and I chatted at the end of the trial academy about a case of mine and how to position punitive damages. The case involves an above-the-leg amputation against a medical evacuation company that refused transport out of Mexico.
I’m proud to pass on that the jury returned a $24.8M verdict yesterday including $10M of punitive damages.”
-Patrick M. Arenz
