Trial Preparation for Florida Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before the start time.
Online – Friday, November 15, 2024
9:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT
Overview of a Civil Trial
Presented by: Edward V. Ricci
- Pre-trial procedure and scheduling orders
- Discovery control plan and discovery overview
- Pre-trial motion practice
- Anatomy of a trial
Assisting with Investigations
Presented by: Edward V. Ricci
- Summarizing depositions
- Skip tracing
- Coordinating witnesses
- Reviewing pleadings and discovery
Effectively Working with Opposing Counsel and Staff
Presented by: Tara Kopp
- Analyzing methods of communication
- Standards for responding to emails
- Working with the courts
- Maintaining professionalism
Assembling and Using Trial Notebooks
Presented by: Sarah Kay
- Essentials of a trial notebook
- Organization of a trial notebook
- Uses for a trial notebook before trial
- Uses of a trial notebook during trial
Litigation Ethics for Assistants and Paralegals
Presented by: Sarah Kay
- Attorney and paralegal ethical rules
- Specific areas of concern for legal support staff
- Conflicts of interest
- Confidentiality
- Ex-parte communications
- Avoiding the unauthorized practice of law
- Working with clients, courts and opposing counsel
Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.
Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.
Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.
GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled.
Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps Hardware: 2GB RAM or more
For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com
Credits
Paralegals
6.0 Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)
NFPA - National Federation of Paralegal Associations
6.0 CLE Hours (Including 1.0 Ethics Hour)
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 6.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, for paralegals. Paralegal certification is not required to participate in this course.
Courses approved for credit by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) are deemed acceptable for Florida Registered Paralegals (Rule 20-6.1).
This course has been approved by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) for 6.0 total CLE credits, which includes 5.0 general credits and 1.0 ethics credit.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).
On-Demand Credits
The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format is not pre-approved by any licensing boards and may not qualify for the same credits; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.
Speakers
Sarah E. Kay, Esq. BCS
Kay Family Law PLLCMs. Kay assists Florida’s families in the Tampa Bay area as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law and Appellate Mediator and a Collaborative Family Law Attorney through her firm Kay Family Law PLLC in Tampa. She assists solo and small firms providing contract research, writing, and consulting services. Speaking, writing, and consulting on family law matters, particularly ones involving persons with disabilities or special needs, are among Ms. Kay’s passions.
Leadership is among her strengths. Of note, Ms. Kay was 2023-2024 Chair of The Family Law Section of The Florida Bar during their 50th anniversary year, 2017-2018 President of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers, President of the Hillsborough County Bar Association Leadership Institute Class of 2013, and Co-Chair r of the 2013 and 2014 Hillsborough County Bar Association 5k Pro Bono River Run Committee.
Tara Kopp
Attorney with Schuler, Weisser, Zoeller, Overbeck, & Baxter P.A.Ms. Kopp has been the managing attorney of multiple PIP departments at several prominent law firms in Palm Beach County, running both the prelitigation and litigation departments. As Managing PIP attorney at this firm, she and her team have represented prominent hospitals, orthopedics, chiropractors, urgent care facilities, radiologists, and physical therapists throughout the State of Florida in the recovery of unpaid PIP claims, resulting in millions of dollars being recovered in judgments and settlements against insurance companies. Ms. Kopp’s involvement in litigating PIP claims has resulted in creating leading Case Law in the area of PIP. Her knowledge and expertise in complicated PIP issues has been published under Florida Law Weekly to be relied upon and followed when applying the PIP law. Ms. Kopp was the first attorney in Florida to create case law on a specific topic in PIP, and led a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) hosted by Palm Beach County Bar on the topic of, “Navigating Billing Issues Involved in PIP Claims.” She continues to focus on teaching attorneys who represent both Plaintiffs and Defendants on how to properly calculate the amount owed in reimbursement of PIP bills and how to properly adjust the remaining balances on bills. Graduating from Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law at the top 5% of her graduating class, Ms. Kopp was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2009. She first served as a Judicial Clerk for Judge Peter Evan in the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, Florida, before specializing in the areas of Personal Injury Protection (PIP) litigation and first party litigation. Ms. Kopp is a member of the Palm Beach County Justice Association, and the Palm Beach County Bar Association.
Edward V. Ricci
Attorney with Searcy LawMr. Ricci was born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is a graduate of The Benjamin School (1997), Georgetown College (2001), and Georgetown University Law Center (2006). Since joining the firm in 2008, Mr. Ricci has successfully tried numerous personal injury and wrongful death cases to verdict and obtained significant settlements on behalf of his clients. He has advocated for his clients in complicated cases involving product defects, medical malpractice, automobile negligence, and premises liability. Mr. Ricci is a Florida Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. Board certified lawyers have met The Florida Bar’s highest standards for special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in the practice of law. Before attending law school, he worked in Washington, D.C. as an auto safety policy analyst at Public Citizen, the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit consumer advocacy organization. While working for Public Citizen, he worked to strengthen federal motor vehicle safety standards and other consumer protection laws. Mr. Ricci is admitted to practice in the Northern, Middle, and Southern Federal District Courts in Florida. He is a member of The Florida Bar, Palm Beach County Bar Association, Palm Beach County Justice Association, Florida Justice Association, American Association for Justice, and Attorneys Information Exchange Group. Mr. Ricci is an emeritus member of the Craig S. Barnard Inns of Court. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© from 2012 through the present.