Trial Practice Skills – Rediscover Discovery

This webinar will focus more on the WHY and only a little on the HOW of basic discovery. After working in varied fields of litigation and in different communities, I came to realize that there is no one right way to approach discovery; however, using the exact same practice and procedure for each case may be the wrong way.The goal is to push attendees to look at their discovery practices with fresh eyes, and to encourage experimenting. A big part of this involves considering each case’s themes and trial strategy very early and making discovery choices that fit that individual strategy.

In my first job as a lawyer, I was taught, “You MUST always do THIS” in discovery. Then my next boss taught me “THIS is the way we do it because THIS is right.” I formed my own procedures when I was on my own – sort of a combination of styles but never varying. After moving to a new area, where local practices were very different, I started questioning each move and found value just in that questioning.This webinar aims to provide the goals of each step of discovery –what can and what can NOT be gained there – and push attendees to question their own discovery plans and maybe make improvements or variations in some cases.

Presenter

Amy Clark Kleinpeter got mad at her landlord in 1998 and ended up at USC Law School a year later. She passed the California bar in 2002 and Texas in 2004. Ms. Kleinpeter’s first years as a lawyer gave her varied experiences – working one year at a large firm, examining documents from the banks involved in the Enron Scandal, then representing public entities at a tiny law firm known for aggressive defense. Eventually, Amy opened a solo employee-side and consumer bankruptcy firm in Pasadena, California.Since opening her practice in 2006, Ms. Kleinpeter quit filing bankruptcies, had a second child, talked to anyone who would listen about foreclosure rescue fraud and other consumer issues, sued debt settlement companies for fraud until they mostly went out of business (not because of her suits, but yay!) moved with her family across the country, adopted way too many pets, started suing car dealerships and attempted to stay sane. Amy is now located in Central Texas and practices primarily auto fraud and FCRA, along with any other good consumer case she can find (and a few others besides.)