This week was a different kind of busy. On Monday, I shifted back and forth between the first drafts of my opening statement and closing argument, and completing the research memorandum I have been working on for Joleen East regarding the difference between gross and culpable negligence relating to the statutory protections afforded under workers compensation. At lunch, I was able to attend the Associate College Luncheon by David Marsey on Trial Objections and Strategies. This was perfect timing given the recent distribution of the mock trial problem. When I took trial advocacy last semester, objections were what I was the most uncomfortable with, so it was great to hear the tips and advice given at the luncheon.

On Tuesday, I made progress on my research assignments and drafting for the mock trial continued. I started to work on my direct examinations and even tweaked my opening/closing (again) before the first practice that evening. Then, on Wednesday morning, the summer associates had a seminar on Tips for Courtroom Success with Scott Kirk in the Orlando office. It was great to hear the advice he had, and he also told stories relating to the advice he was giving and how he’d seen it play out in trial before. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to hear real world practice tips and tricks from such experienced trial attorneys. Later that afternoon, I was able to finish the memorandum discussing the distinction between the negligence standards, and continued work on another memorandum relating to the same issue but focusing on the standard of proof. This one was definitely trickier given the vagueness in the statute and the murky case law.

On Thursday morning, I met Meredith Fee in the morning to drive to a deposition she had about an hour away. It was a quick drive, and a good thing too, because ultimately the deponent didn’t show. Meredith told me that it’s not atypical for troopers to either not show or to be late to their deposition since they may be called away for work-related duties when their deposition is supposed to take place. Although I didn’t get to see the deposition, it was an experience nonetheless that showed me things you don’t expect to happen do happen and how to handle them.

Friday, I got a second shot to attend, and see, a deposition this week with Joleen East. It was right downtown and the deponent did show, thankfully. I couldn’t even really compare the deposition I had seen with Tyler Derr previously with this one, given the vast differences between the cases, the parties and the suit. It was an entirely new experience. I was able to see how Joleen approached the deposition and the lines of questioning she pursued. I noticed how she followed up on answers and also circled back around to topics to ensure the deponent gave the same answer, both things that we had been instructed on doing during the deposition seminar. Back at the office, I was able to complete the second research memorandum assignment. This one was far more challenging than the other one, but I was able to talk to Joleen about it earlier in the week to make sure I was on the right track, and felt confident in the conclusions I came to.

Overall, this week flew by. I had mock trial practice at the end of three days this week, so each of those days I kept hoping time would slow down to give me more time to work on my assignments and prepare for practice. That, of course, made time go faster and when I looked at the clock it was already 5:00 pm. Practices have been going great so far; Eric and I are getting feedback from our coaches and the attorneys assisting with practices, which has been extremely helpful in crafting the final pieces for our trial. This weekend, I’m planning on reworking some of the things I worked on at practice this week for our practices next week. I can’t believe next weekend I’ll be getting ready to go to Orlando for the actual mock trial. How has week 8 come and gone?!