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Webinar

2025 YLS Trial Skills Workshop


Total Credits: 8.0 MCLE


Dates


Description

Sponsored by MoBarCLE and The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers' Section

(Exact times may change) 

9-9:50 a.m. | Preparing for your first jury trial
Speakers: Sarah J. Duggan
, Brown, Curry & Duggan, LLC, Kansas City; EmmaLee A. Wilson, Edelman Liesen Myers LLP, Kansas City

9:50-10:40 a.m. | Your starting point is the finish line: How to instruct a jury in a civil case
In Missouri, it is mandatory that attorneys use Missouri Approved Instructions (MAI-Civil) in any civil case where those approved instructions apply. The 8th Edition of MAI was published in 2020. Have your MAI book or eBook ready and learn practical tips for how to use and modify MAI to properly instruct a jury.

Learning objectives:

  • Basics of MAI.
  • When to deviate from MAI.
  • How to label and submit instructions to the court.
  • Instructions and preservation of error.
  • New and revised instructions and where to find them.

Speaker: Joan M. Lockwood, Gray Ritter Graham, St. Louis

10:40-10:50 a.m. | Break

10:50-11:40 a.m. | Voir dire
Speaker: Morry S. Cole
, Gray Ritter Graham, St. Louis

11:40 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Opening statements
Speaker: Tristin M. Estep
, Missouri Attorney General's Office, St. Louis

12:30-1:30 p.m. | Lunch

1:30-2:20 p.m. | Direct and cross-examination
Speaker: Morgan C. Murphy
, Zevan Murphy LLC, St. Louis

2:20-3:10 p.m. | Objections and motion practice
Speaker: Theodore A. Bruce
, Missouri Attorney General's Office, Jefferson City

3:10-3:20 p.m. | Break

3:20-4:10 p.m. | Closing arguments
Speaker: Ryan J. Krupp
, Krupp & Raboin, St. Louis

4:10-5 p.m. | Trial technology
Speaker: Jimmy B. Wilkins
, Watkins & Eager PLLC, Jackson, MS

5 p.m. | Adjourn

Opinions and positions stated by presenters of MoBarCLE programs are those of the presenters and not necessarily those of The Missouri Bar. This program is intended as information for lawyers in Missouri, in conjunction with other research they deem necessary, in the exercise of their independent judgment.

Speaker

Theodore Bruce Related Seminars and Products

Missouri Attorney General's Office


Morry Cole's Profile

Morry Cole Related Seminars and Products

Gray, Ritter & Graham P.C.


Morry S. Cole practices primarily in the areas of wrongful death, aviation, products liability, professional negligence, and corporate litigation at Gray, Ritter and Graham in St. Louis. He is a former President of the Missouri Bar (2017-2018) and is an adjunct law professor at Washington University.


Sarah Duggan's Profile

Sarah Duggan Related Seminars and Products

Brown, Curry & Duggan


Before law school, Sarah served as a police officer, graduating from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. This role provided her with a unique perspective on policing, shaping her understanding of the urgent need for reform. Sarah also spent over fifteen years in the service industry witnessing firsthand the struggles of lower wage workers.
Following law school, Sarah joined the City of Kansas City’s Corporate Litigation Department, where she tackled employment, tort, and contract claims from a defense standpoint. This experience broadened her perspective, equipping her with the tools to better guide her clients through the complexities of litigation. 
Currently, Sarah channels her passion for advocacy into her role as an attorney representing employees against their employers, which involves tackling giant corporations on behalf of the disadvantaged employee. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law, where she teaches trial advocacy. In this capacity, she not only imparts her extensive knowledge to aspiring lawyers but also inspires them to champion justice and integrity in their future practices.


Tristin Estep's Profile

Tristin Estep Related Seminars and Products

Missouri Attorney General's Office


Ryan Krupp's Profile

Ryan Krupp Related Seminars and Products

KRUPP LAW FIRM, LLC


Ryan Krupp is a personal injury and criminal defense attorney in St. Louis and St. Charles County. Previously, he worked for both the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and Johnson County District Attorney’s Office where he appeared in court on behalf of the State of Missouri and Kansas in the criminal prosecution of among other things, Domestic Violence, Assault, Drug Cases, SVU Cases, Juvenile Offenders, and other felonies and misdemeanors. He tried numerous cases to a judge and jury.

Ryan is a native St. Louisan and is an alumni of Marquette High-School and Missouri Baptist University where he played men’s soccer, racking up several honors including two Academic All-American Awards, as well as Scholar Athlete Nominations and Academic All-Conference honors. Ryan is passionate about using his winning mindset to help people and ensure justice.


Joan M. Lockwood's Profile

Joan M. Lockwood Related Seminars and Products

Gray Ritter Graham


Joan Lockwood, director with Gray Ritter Graham, handles a broad range of litigation, including automobile and trucking accidents, products liability, medical negligence, and wrongful death. She was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions in 2003 serving as reporter from 2009-2019 and chair from 2020-present.


Morgan Murphy's Profile

Morgan Murphy Related Seminars and Products

Zevan Murphy LLC


Morgan Murphy is a partner and trial attorney at Zevan Davidson Roman LLC in St. Louis, focusing on plaintiffs’ personal injury and medical malpractice cases across Missouri and Illinois. She previously spent six years defending physicians in medical malpractice suits. She is a graduate of Washington University School of Law. 


Jimmy Wilkins's Profile

Jimmy Wilkins Related Seminars and Products

Watkins & Eager PLLC


Jimmy B. Wilkins was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1997 and brings substantial experience in tort, general litigation, and personal injury litigation on the defense side. His practice exclusively focuses on defending clients sued in cases involving catastrophic incidents, including explosions, electrocutions, fires, burns, drownings, severe injuries or deaths, and product cases involving significant injuries. His clients include premises owners, oil and gas product companies, businesses engaged in major commercial and residential projects, product manufacturers, and national retailers. Jimmy has a strong track record of handling significant premises and product liability cases, having tried approximately twenty-five significant cases to verdict. Before joining Watkins & Eager, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable William H. Barbour, Jr., United States District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi (1997-98). Additionally, Jimmy is a frequent national lecturer on integrating artificial intelligence in litigation, utilizing Apple technology as an organizational tool in litigation practice, and is a frequent national lecturer on using Apple technology to present at trial effectively.



Dates

Fri, Jun 20, 2025 - 09:00am to 05:00pm CDT
Thu, Sep 04, 2025 - 09:00am to 05:00pm CDT

Cancellation Policy

Click HERE to review the Cancellation Policy.