This week was filled with all sorts of activities! Monday was our Summer Associate Deposition Workshop, where partner Skip Eubanks played the role of a plaintiff in a personal injury case. Each of us prepared an outline of topics to ask Skip based on the case materials we had received, but the primary focus of the workshop was practicing our ability to recognize new issues as they came up throughout Skip’s answers. This workshop was excellent practice for taking a real deposition, although Skip’s evasiveness did not make my job easy!
On Tuesday, Erica and I watched a case mediation performed by associate Samendio Mathieu and partner Carie Hall. We sat in on one of Samendio’s earlier depositions in this case, so it was interesting to see how that testimony was included in the initial arguments to the mediator. The breaks between settlement offers gave us time to discuss mediation strategy with Samendio and how potential settlements would normally progress.
I talked to partner Patrick Delaney later that afternoon about the motion in limine that I submitted to him last week. We had a great conversation about how Patrick draws legal writing inspiration from a variety of sources to tailor his style to the needs of each case. While structure in legal writing is important, phrasing points in certain ways or formats helps legal writing to stay fresh and persuasive to the court.
On Wednesday morning, Erica and I attended a presentation that partner Steve Klein gave on product liability at Barry University Andreas School of Law. It was great to hear more of Steve’s war stories and insights on different areas of product liability law and practice. He also emphasized the many steps that RumbergerKirk attorneys take to ensure that they are prepared for every case and become informal experts on each case’s subject matter. On the drive back, we stopped for lunch at a great restaurant.
Thursday, we had our Direct and Cross Examination Seminar with Miami partners Scott Sarason and Suzanne Singer. They explained the different tactics involved in performing a direct examination compared to a cross examination. Their video demonstrations from My Cousin Vinny inspired me to go home and watch that movie for the first time later that night. Before that, however, Erica and I, along with partners Charlie Mitchell, Jen Thomas, and of counsel Larry Smith, went to the Orange County Bar Association’s Law Clerk’s reception, where we enjoyed speaking with attorneys and summer associates from other firms. There was a large number of law students from the University of Florida, so it was very nice to see them and hear how their summer clerkships have been going.
Finally, we had our Summer Associate Motion Practice Workshop on Friday afternoon with partner Samantha Duke. Each of us argued our Daubert motion, and Samantha would ask us questions about the case and the relevant law during our arguments. She also asked us to respond to a rebuttal argument. I was very comfortable with this assignment because of my experiences doing moot court, so I think that it went very well. On Friday evening, we received our team assignments for the upcoming mock trial and preparations for that begin next week!
