Veteran Litigators Whip DAYL into Shape at Trial Boot Camp

© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.

(June 10) – After about a year of planning, leaders of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers finally saw the fruits of their labor this past weekend at what was widely considered the most successful DAYL event in 2015 so far.

Add around 120 young attorneys, eight judges, 25 seasoned attorneys and the George Allen Courthouse together and you get the DAYL Trial Skills Boot Camp.

The young lawyers on Saturday brushed up on their voir dire, cross examination, closing argument, pretrial conference and jury charge conference skills via pointers from some of the best trial attorneys in the area: Lisa Blue, Pete Marketos, Victor Vital, Mark Werbner, Michael K. Hurst, Jeff Tillotson, Eric Pinker, Kirk Willis, Michael Gardner, Sean Lemoine, Carmen Mitchell, Dawn Estes, Frederick Barrow, Bryan Pope, Gary Eisenstat, Melanie Okon, Tex Quesada, Steve Malouf, Luke Lafitte, Ann Marie Arcadi, Marc Katz, Rick Robertson Steve Fox, Jeff Levinger and Gayla Crain.

Judges present to provide pieces of wisdom to the DAYL crowd included: Bonnie Goldstein, Martin Hoffman, Ken Molberg, Tonya Parker, Ken Tapscott, Sally Montgomery, Emily Tobolowsky and Phyllis Lister Brown.

DAYL President Jonathan Childers said the boot camp truly fulfilled its purpose of providing a top-notch experiential learning opportunity for young lawyers who aspire to practice regularly in the courtroom – especially if that aspiration happens sooner than expected.

“Young lawyers cannot always control when they go to trial, but thanks for the Trial Skills Boot Camp, they are better equipped with skills and confidence to succeed when they do,” said Childers, a partner at Gruber Hurst Elrod Johansen Hail Shank.

Leslie Chaggaris, a DAYL member who co-chaired the boot camp, agreed.

“The Trial Skills Boot Camp was a success, in large part, due to the accomplished trial lawyers and Dallas County judges who selflessly donated their time to train the next generation of trial lawyers,” said Chaggaris, an associate at Reese Gordon Marketos. “We have an incredible bar in Dallas, and we were honored that so many nationally recognized, Dallas-based trial lawyers participated.”

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