Trial Lawyers University

Dan Ambrose, Trial Lawyers University
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Satisfied with being an average trial attorney? This isn't the podcast for you. Welcome to Trial Lawyers University (TLU), the ultimate playbook for lawyers that want to achieve trial immortality. Hosted by TLU founder and veteran trial attorney Dan Ambrose, this power-packed podcast features in-depth interviews with Top Ranked Trial Lawyers, including Brian Panish, Keith Mitnik, Joe Fried, Zoe Littlepage, Rex Parris, John Romano, Sach Oliver, Jakob Norman, Dino Colombo, Lloyd Bell, Chris Finney, David Christensen, and more. In each episode, you’ll gain invaluable trial insights, strategies, and tactics directly from the titans of trial. Ready to join the group that continues to dominate the trial world? Register for our live conferences and boot camps at triallawyersuniversity.com. And while you are waiting for the main event, jumpstart your journey to victory now by going to TLUonDemand.com for instant access to live lectures, case analysis, skills training videos, expert depositions, jury selection, transcripts, pleadings, and more strategic insight to apply to every stage of litigation! Access is limited to attorneys for plaintiffs and criminal defendants. To begin your journey, all you need is a web browser.

  1. John Demas’s $32,000,000 One Day Wrongful Death Speed Trial

    2D AGO

    John Demas’s $32,000,000 One Day Wrongful Death Speed Trial

    Two big-data studies predicted a verdict between $13 and $16 million. John Demas trusted his instincts and walked out of a Sacramento courtroom with $32 million. The case: An on-duty city detective swerved onto the freeway shoulder and killed two brothers, leaving two children without a father. John joins host Dan Ambrose to break down how he turned down a $15 million pre-close offer, spent 95% of voir dire on an "outside the box" damages framework, and opened with a Fleetwood Mac montage that had half the jury in tears. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ John Demas | LinkedIn ☑️ Demas Law Group | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot★ John’s family emigrated from Greece to Sacramento in the early '70s; his earliest memories are selling fruits and vegetables at flea markets every weekend and summer through law school. ★ His parents steered him toward dental school so he could eventually practice in Greece, but a constitutional law class in his second year of undergrad flipped a switch. ★ After being laid off nine months into his first job, John opened his own firm at age 24 with a law school buddy. ★ The $32 million verdict was against the City of Sacramento after an on-duty police detective swerved from a freeway lane onto the shoulder, killing two brothers. ★ John ran an in-person focus group of 12 people to practice voir dire, recording it to get reps on the "outside the box" framework and the core wrongful death issues before setting foot in the courtroom. ★ In voir dire, John drew a physical box on an easel labeled "full value of the loss," then walked jurors through every outside-the-box concern — city impact, the officer's job, making kids rich, money not bringing anyone back — and addressed each one head-on. ★ In rebuttal, after the defense called the loss "immeasurable," John wrote that word on his easel and revealed that the city's suggested damages worked out to $1.50 an hour. “This is what the city thinks this loss is worth,” he told the jury. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1h 18m
  2. Humanity, Habitability, and Heart: How Eric Castelblanco Battles Slumlords for Million-Dollar Verdicts

    5D AGO

    Humanity, Habitability, and Heart: How Eric Castelblanco Battles Slumlords for Million-Dollar Verdicts

    Eric Castelblanco was helping a client navigate the immigration system when she told him about her neighbor’s slip-and-fall in their apartment building. Would he help her? Of course he would. Not only did he secure a $250,000 settlement for that client, he later took a case for 92 residents who lived in squalor at the same building. The $2.14 million settlement compelled him to switch from immigration law to habitability law. In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose, Eric reflects on how he built one of California's leading habitability practices from scratch and how he keeps the firm driven to prepare every case as if it’s going to trial. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Eric Castelblanco | LinkedIn ☑️ Castelblanco Law Group | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotEric immigrated to the U.S. as a toddler; his family lived in nine different apartments over 12 years, giving him a firsthand understanding of what it means to be a powerless tenant.His father worked in factories and car washes before opening a small machine shop. Working for his father from age 13 "really taught me the work ethic,” he says.Eric attended Loyola Marymount University, passed the CPA exam on his first try, worked two years at KPMG, and then enrolled at Harvard Law School.After five years in corporate law, Eric left because he felt a greater kinship with the plaintiffs’ lawyers he watched in depositions.Eric's first habitability case came through an immigration client who referred him to his neighbor, who was injured from a slip-and-fall at their apartment building. That led to a $250,000 settlement..When Eric's immigration client visited his new office to pay rent, he learned that the same management company owned her residential building — where 92 tenants lived in squalor. He mortgaged his house multiple times to fund their case and nearly went bankrupt before a $2.14 million settlement on the eve of jury selection.Castelblanco Law Group now operates with six attorneys and over 20 staff under the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), which Eric credits with transforming how he holds his team accountable and maintains a long-term vision for the firm.At TLU Beach, Eric will teach a lecture and workshop on how to identify, build, value, and try habitability cases. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    55 min
  3. Outlaw Roots, Record Verdict: The Road to $126,000,000, The Chris Hammons Journey

    MAY 13

    Outlaw Roots, Record Verdict: The Road to $126,000,000, The Chris Hammons Journey

    At age 37, Chris Hammons made it all the way to the jury level of the hit reality show “Survivor.” The jury voted him off. But more recently, two juries in a courtroom – not on an island – have voted for him in federal civil rights cases: In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose, Chris breaks down how he secured verdicts of $126 million and $2 million. Tune in as he explains why he takes on Section 1983 cases and why they’re so hard to win. “They aren't car wrecks. There isn't any negligence. You've got to prove this deliberate indifference in all these constitutional violations.” Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Chris Hammons | LinkedIn ☑️ Laird Hammons Laird Law | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotChris grew up largely on his own after his father — whom he describes as "a mountain man, but … kind of an outlaw" — went to prison when Chris was around 14. As he explains, his dad was guilty – but the system didn’t work for him. That’s why he pursued law.Chris walked on to the University of Oklahoma football program after an OU coach called his grandmother's house. He rose from walk-on to team captain of the 2000 national championship team.After law school, Chris built his personal injury practice by forgiving criminal defense clients' fees in exchange for referrals.Chris was cast on “Survivor” in 2015 at age 37; he survived 50 days on the show, reaching the jury phase. He later competed on “The Amazing Race.”The $126 million verdict involved the death of an 18-year-old girl who was struck by an off-duty police officer speeding to retrieve keys for a department event. Chris reframed what some saw as a simple car wreck into a Section 1983 civil rights case.The $126 million verdict came in on Chris' birthday, April Fools' Day, with the judge reading "18 million, 18 million, 18 million" — each category set at $18 million because Emily was 18 years old when she died.Two weeks after the $126 million verdict, Chris tried a jail death case involving a man who developed a perforated ulcer during nine days in jail. He secured a $2 million verdict. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1h 21m
  4. Are You Limiting Your Deposition Evidence? Get More from Every Witness

    MAY 11

    Are You Limiting Your Deposition Evidence? Get More from Every Witness

    Vancouver-based trial lawyer Robyn Wishart also studied neurology – a discipline that she leverages in the courtroom to get more from witnesses. “I think neuroscience and being able to control our emotions and our brain can lead us on a way, on a path that can move our clients into forgetting that they're in a courtroom and being able to deliver the story,” she explains to host Dan Ambrose. Tune in to learn why she uses a questioning technique called “clean language” to get at what a witness really means behind what they’re saying. She will teach that technique at TLU Beach. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Robyn Wishart | LinkedIn ☑️ Wishart Brain & Spine Law | X | Facebook | Instagram ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotRobyn grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she escaped the cold through volleyball — playing five years at the University of British Columbia before turning pro.Before law school, Robyn spent four years studying neuroscience at the University of Winnipeg and UBC, where she learned how visualization and attention control translate directly to courtroom performance.Robyn is the only Canadian trial lawyer ever to have taught at the American Association for Justice.Robyn was chosen by 250 professional athletes to be their voice in the Canadian Football League's CTE concussion litigation. The first test case centered on former wide receiver Arland Bruce. In arbitration, her team had no discovery and couldn’t do a deposition. “I got on-my-feet admissions I would never have gotten had I not put the work in,” she says.Robyn explains that "clean language" is a questioning technique that removes a lawyer's assumptions and redirects focus entirely to what a witness truly wants to say, using the witness's own metaphors to draw out deeper, more powerful testimony.Robyn argues that if lawyers leave deposition techniques at the door of the courtroom, they are leaving critical information on the table — the very information a jury needs to understand negligence and damages. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1h 22m
  5. Advanced Deposition Training with Author and Inventor of the “Miller Mousetrap,” Phillip Miller

    MAY 8

    Advanced Deposition Training with Author and Inventor of the “Miller Mousetrap,” Phillip Miller

    Trial consultant Phillip Miller takes a deep dive into the two papers he’s written about depositions: one presents the scientific underpinnings of effective persuasion while the other focuses on experiential learning, which means getting on your feet and “actually doing the thing.” “It's great to take notes and have an idea, ‘Okay, here's the context for the behavior I need to model and adapt.’ But until you actually get up and do it, you're never going to be able to integrate it into your style,” he explains to host Dan Ambrose. Tune in for his insights about depositions and how his research aligns with Dan’s TLU training. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Phillip Miller I LinkedIn ☑️ Miller Law OfficesI Facebook ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ Turning Witness Testimony into an Experience for the Jury, May 8 - 9, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotPhillip began trial consulting in 1999 and has developed it into his practice, working with top plaintiff attorneys on high-stakes cases.His “Miller Mousetrap” refers to when you learn a technique but don’t execute it confidently because you haven’t practiced it yourself.“Mirroring” is a core deposition skill Phillip teaches: a technique to connect with and control a witness that many lawyers dismiss until they try it.Phillip emphasizes that TLU similarly prioritizes content quality over outside influence, with the only "external control" being Dan's commitment to finding speakers who can deliver and teach what matters. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    15 min
  6. Susie Injijian — Who Needs an Army to Become an Eight-Figure Trial Lawyer When You're Willing to Do the WORK?

    MAY 6

    Susie Injijian — Who Needs an Army to Become an Eight-Figure Trial Lawyer When You're Willing to Do the WORK?

    Susie Injijian was running out of resources and out of time. She had put a few hundred thousand dollars into the premises liability case, got some litigation funding, and invested most of her retirement savings to bring it to trial. Tune in as she and host Dan Ambrose break down the complex case that dragged on from 2018, with two trials, until July 3, 2023, when it all paid off with a jury verdict of $25.5 million. “It was career-changing for me. I mean, my dreams came true because of it, and that's no exaggeration,” she says. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Susie Injijian | LinkedIn ☑️ Injijian Law Office ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ Turning Witness Testimony into an Experience for the Jury, May 8 - 9, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotSusie is the mother of TLU coach Georgio Injijian, whom she brought on to co-try the case after her original co-counsel abandoned ship in early 2022 with trial set for October.Susie's client, an electrician, suffered severe burn injuries on his right arm when a fuse he was changing at an industrial property exploded in his hand.Susie took the case right before the statute of limitations, filed a cross complaint against the property owner and tenant, and financed it herself.The first trial in October 2022 ended in a mistrial after a defense lawyer claimed a family emergency mid-jury selection. The defense offered $600,000 to settle. Susie rejected it.After the mistrial, Susie attended TLU Live in Las Vegas, connected with a jury consultant, and went to trial in April 2023.During trial, the defense was caught running an unauthorized shadow jury — a demographically matched group secretly watching the Zoom feed. The judge offered a mistrial, but Susie declined because the case was going well.Susie waived $450,000 in specials (medical bills subject to an ERISA lien and lost wages) to avoid anchoring the jury low and instead builtan entirely non-economic damages case.On July 3, 2023, the jury delivered a $25.5 million verdict after a day and a half of deliberations.Post-verdict, the defense brought a motion for a new trial. At that point, she had the total judgment at over $33 million. The defense asked to go to mediation; Susie said “no.” Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1 hr
  7. Brandon Yosha and the New Generation of Trial Lawyers Winning 8-Figure Verdicts

    MAY 1

    Brandon Yosha and the New Generation of Trial Lawyers Winning 8-Figure Verdicts

    “From day one, I was taught the right way — because there's a right way and a wrong way." That conviction has defined Brandon Yosha's six-year career, which began with a $20.3 million verdict in his very first trial. Brandon joins host Dan Ambrose in West Hollywood to share the Nick Rowley mentorship that shaped his trial philosophy, the legacy of his father — Indiana trial legend Buddy Yosha — and the opening statement framework he'll be teaching at TLU Beach. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Brandon Yosha | LinkedIn ☑️ Yosha Law ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ Witness Preparation & Direct Examination, May 8–9, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ Dark Arts Trial Warcraft Bootcamp, May 27–June 2, Huntington Beach, CA ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3–6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode Snapshot★ In high school, Brandon was at one point ranked the seventh-best running back in the country, but he suffered an ACL tear his sophomore year and another his junior year before rebounding for a strong senior season. ★ Brandon lettered as a true freshman at the University of Miami, where his freshman-year roster included 40 players who would go on to play in the NFL. ★ Five weeks from his first trial, Brandon cold-emailed Nick Rowley — and within one hour, Nick responded; the next day, Nick sent members of his team to Indianapolis to help Brandon prepare for trial. ★ Brandon's first trial involved an electric shock injury. The jury awarded $20.3 million. ★ Brandon's father, Buddy Yosha, has practiced law since 1963 and tried over a hundred personal injury jury trials in Indiana — more than any lawyer in the state's history — losing just six, four of which were his first four, before going on a 70-case win streak. ★ In his second trial, Brandon tried a case alongside Buddy; when opposing counsel objected during Buddy's rebuttal, the judge said "Sit down, counselor" before she could state her reason. The jury awarded $2.3 million. ★ Inspired by his first verdict, Brandon wrote From Running Back to Giving Back: A Lineage of Civil Advocacy, which became an Amazon bestseller in trial advocacy, reaching the top 20. ★ Brandon and Nick Rowley are co-counsel on a case against Amazon — which Brandon expects to go to trial next May. ★ Brandon is teaching an opening statement workshop at TLU Beach; he is asking workshop participants to send their draft opening statements before arriving in Huntington Beach. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1h 7m
  8. George Moschopoulos — Minimal Employment, Maximum Verdict

    APR 29

    George Moschopoulos — Minimal Employment, Maximum Verdict

    Three weeks before trial, George Moschopoulos got the call. A sexual harassment case venued in San Bernardino: no physical contact, no expert witnesses, no treaters to testify — and a plaintiff who had already been sexually harassed at three prior employers. The defendant's offer was $125,000. George joins host Dan Ambrose to break down how he reframed the bad facts into immovable case frames, sequenced witnesses to tell a compelling story, and fought to get a damning surreptitious recording admitted as substantive evidence. The jury returned a $2 million verdict. Tune in for George's approach to framing, voir dire, witness sequencing, and his upcoming workshops at TLU Beach. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ George Moschopoulos | LinkedIn ☑️ The Law Office of George Moschopoulos ☑️ Trial Lawyers University ☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos ☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn ☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube 2026 Programming ☑️ Witness Preparation & Direct Examination, May 8 - 9, Hermosa Beach, CA ☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA Episode SnapshotIn November, George tried a sexual harassment "he said, she said" case in San Bernardino with no physical contact, no experts, and a short-term, part-time plaintiff — and won a $2 million verdict.George was parachuted into the case about a month before trial when settlement discussions between a $125,000 defendant offer and a $250,000 plaintiff demand stalled; by the time he stepped in, he had three weeks to prepare.The case carried severe constraints: no physical touching (words only), no expert witnesses or treaters set to testify, and no before-or-after witnesses — leaving the plaintiff herself as the sole source of emotional distress testimony.A surreptitious recording made in California, a two-party consent state, was initially at risk of exclusion; George argued at a 402 hearing that the crowded restaurant setting left the defendant with no reasonable expectation of privacy — and won, getting the recording admitted as substantive evidence.George builds his cases around immovable "frames" — like steel columns supporting a structure — identifying bad facts first, then turning them into central themes; in this case: an unusually susceptible plaintiff (three prior harassment incidents) and every employee's universal right to dignity in the workplace.His mini opening strategy is to front-load bad facts so the jury hears them from plaintiff's counsel first — surfacing jurors who may not be fair and impartial.For cause challenges, George uses a sequencing tactic: start with the second-strongest challenge to test the judge's threshold, then move to the strongest to build momentum.George sequenced his four witnesses across three acts: CEO first (bad actor, recording played on day one) → wife via video deposition → HR office manager → plaintiff last.After the verdict, jurors told co-counsel they were put off by hearing the defendant's financials early in trial — a lesson George took about the risks of trying punitive damages in a single, unbifurcated phase.George will teach two workshops and deliver two lectures at TLU Beach on framing and sequencing employment cases, and building cross-examinations of HR investigators, neuropsych experts, and executive witnesses. Produced and Powered by LawPods

    1h 33m
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4.9
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About

Satisfied with being an average trial attorney? This isn't the podcast for you. Welcome to Trial Lawyers University (TLU), the ultimate playbook for lawyers that want to achieve trial immortality. Hosted by TLU founder and veteran trial attorney Dan Ambrose, this power-packed podcast features in-depth interviews with Top Ranked Trial Lawyers, including Brian Panish, Keith Mitnik, Joe Fried, Zoe Littlepage, Rex Parris, John Romano, Sach Oliver, Jakob Norman, Dino Colombo, Lloyd Bell, Chris Finney, David Christensen, and more. In each episode, you’ll gain invaluable trial insights, strategies, and tactics directly from the titans of trial. Ready to join the group that continues to dominate the trial world? Register for our live conferences and boot camps at triallawyersuniversity.com. And while you are waiting for the main event, jumpstart your journey to victory now by going to TLUonDemand.com for instant access to live lectures, case analysis, skills training videos, expert depositions, jury selection, transcripts, pleadings, and more strategic insight to apply to every stage of litigation! Access is limited to attorneys for plaintiffs and criminal defendants. To begin your journey, all you need is a web browser.

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Ambrose, Trial Lawyers University
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    111
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Dan Ambrose, Trial Lawyers University
  • Show Website
    Trial Lawyers University

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