11 episodes

Trial School’s Top Shelf is a unique book club experience that will make you a better trial lawyer. We take amazing books that are fun to read, and we use them to identify the factors that influence key trial moments. You will see how amazing lawyers (both real and fictional) won cases. And it’s fun!

Trial School Top Shelf John Uustal of Trial School

    • Business

Trial School’s Top Shelf is a unique book club experience that will make you a better trial lawyer. We take amazing books that are fun to read, and we use them to identify the factors that influence key trial moments. You will see how amazing lawyers (both real and fictional) won cases. And it’s fun!

    Episode 11: Courtroom Storytelling

    Episode 11: Courtroom Storytelling

    In this session, John interviews Jim Perdue, Sr. who has, has for the past fifty years, been a trailblazer in bringing new concepts to the art of jury persuasion. Jim speaks to us about his latest book, Courtroom Storytelling.

    About the Author
    Jim Perdue, Sr. spent over forty years persuading juries to find justice for his clients. He won record-and precedent-setting verdicts, pioneered techniques that are now standard practice among the plaintiff’s bar, and has mentored hundreds of aspiring trial attorneys.

    In Courtroom Storytelling, Perdue takes many of the concepts he first introduced in his previous books, such as Winning with Stories, and develops them into a polished series of lessons and exercises that you can begin using to immediately improve your next case.

    About the Book
    Many successful trial lawyers will tell you that those who tell the best story win. Stories hold power. They make case facts memorable and drive jurors to fight for your client during deliberations. A good trial lawyer is a master storyteller. In Courtroom Storytelling, Perdue teaches you how to become exactly that.

    Across twenty-five chapters of practical examples and winning techniques, Perdue guides you through the range of cases he used to develop and prove his strategies for effectively telling a winning story in court.

    Listen in...

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book and Guest Author: Courtroom Storytelling  by Jim Perdue, Sr. of Perdue & Kidd
    Guest:  Jim Perdue, Jr. of Perdue & Kidd
    Guest:  Courtney Winston of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
    Guest: Charles Scott of Kelley | Uustal
    Guest:  Mike Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
    Watch the Webinar Video: [Coming soon!]
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HERE.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 36 min
    Episode 10: The Final Case

    Episode 10: The Final Case

    In this session, we are joined by award-winning, best-selling author, David Guterson to discuss his book, The Final Case.

    About the Author
    Guterson’s writing has been celebrated for its atmospheric intensity, narrative drive, and probing exploration of fundamental human themes--love, death, meaning, and morality among them. His many awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the White Award for Journalism, the Washington State Governor's Writers Award, the Swedish Academy Crime Writers' Award, the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for Snow Falling on Cedars.

    About the Book
    The Final Case is said to be the author’s most compelling and heartfelt novel to date. The case involves the death of a young Ethiopian girl and her adoptive parents are charged with her murder. A criminal attorney in Seattle takes on the case as his law practice nears its final days so he leans on his son as he prepares for the last trial of his career. This is a moving familial story about a father and son, a taut courtroom drama and a bold examination of privilege, power, and how to live a meaningful life.

    Listen in...

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book and Guest Author: The Final Case  by David Guterson
    Guest: Mike Kelly of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
    Guest: Brittany Henderson of Edwards Pottinger
    Guest: Kristin Bianculli of Derrevere Stevens Black & Cozad
    Watch the Webinar Video: The Final Case
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HERE.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2023.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 1 hr 12 min
    Episode 9: Exposure

    Episode 9: Exposure

    “For Erin Brockovich fans, a David vs. Goliath tale with a twist.”
    – The New York Times Book Review
    The story that inspired the major motion picture Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo as Robert Bilott.
    Robert Bilott is a partner at the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio where he has practiced environmental law and litigation for more than twenty-eight years. He has been selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America for several years running and has received numerous honors for his work in environmental law and litigation. Rob is a former chair of the Cincinnati Bar Association’s Environmental Law Committee and a graduate of New College in Sarasota, Florida (BA) and the Ohio State University College of Law (JD, cum laude). In 2017, Rob received the international Right Livelihood Award, commonly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for his years of work on PFOA. Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont is his first book.
    In 1998, Rob Bilott began a legal battle against DuPont that would consume the next twenty years of his life, uncovering the worst case of environmental contamination in modern history and a corporate cover-up that put the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Representing a single farmer who was convinced the creek on his property had been poisoned by runoff from a nearby DuPont landfill, Rob ultimately discovers the truth about PFAS—unregulated, toxic chemicals used in the manufacturing of Teflon and a host of other household goods. DuPont’s own scientists had issued internal warnings for years about the harmful effects of PFAS on human health, but the company continued to allow these chemicals to leach into public drinking water. Until Rob forced them to face the consequences.
    Listen in...

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book: Exposure  by Robert Bilott
    Guest Author: Robert Bilott of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, LLP
    Guest: Gale Pearson of Fears Nachawati
    Guest: Lee Javins of Bailey, Javins & Carter, L.C
    Guest: Courtney Winston of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, PC
    Watch the Webinar Video: Relentless Pursuit
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HER
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 1 hr 10 min
    Episode 8: Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

    Episode 8: Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein

    In this session, John Uustal discusses relevant book relevant to current events: Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein, by Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson.
    “This is the definitive story of the case against Jeffrey Epstein and the corrupt system that supported him and Ghislaine Maxwell, told in thrilling detail by the lawyer who has represented Epstein’s victims for more than a decade.” – Simon & Schuster
    Listen in...

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book: Relentless Pursuit: My Fight for the Victims of Jeffrey Epstein  by Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson
    Guest: Bradley Edwards of Edwards Pottinger Law Firm 
    Guest: Brittany Henderson of Edwards Pottinger Law Firm
    Guest: Stan Pottinger of Edwards Pottinger Law Firm
    Guest: Rich Newsome of Newsome Melton Law Firm
    Guest: Peter Spillis of Kelley | Uustal Trial Attorneys
    Watch the Webinar Video: Relentless Pursuit
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HERE.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2022.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 1 hr 15 min
    Episode 7: Devil in the Grove

    Episode 7: Devil in the Grove

    In this session, John Uustal interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King on his book, Devil in the Grove.
    Arguably the most important American lawyer of the twentieth century, Thurgood Marshall was on the verge of bringing the landmark suit Brown v. Board of Education before the U.S. Supreme Court when he became embroiled in a case that threatened to change the course of the civil rights movement and cost him his life.
    “Superb. A powerful and well-told drama of Southern injustice.” (The Chicago Tribune)
    “A taut, intensely readable narrative.” (Boston Globe)
    “A thoroughgoing study of one of the most important civil-rights cases argued by Thurgood Marshall in dismantling Jim Crow strictures…” (Kirkus Reviews)
    Listen in...

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book: Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King
    Guest: Gilbert King, Author
    Guest: Paul Perkins Jr. of Paul & Perkins P.A.
    Guest: Harold Pryor, Broward State Attorney
    Guest: Jim Bartimus of BARTIMUS FRICKLETON ROBERTSON RADER
    Watch the Webinar Video: Devil in the Grove
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HERE.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2022.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 1 hr 14 min
    Episode 6: The Fall of the House of Zeus

    Episode 6: The Fall of the House of Zeus

    The Fall of the House of Zeus tells the story of Dickie Scruggs, arguably the most successful plaintiff’s lawyer in America. A brother-in-law of Trent Lott, the former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, Scruggs made a fortune taking on mass tort lawsuits against “Big Tobacco” and the asbestos industries. He was hailed by Newsweek as a latter-day Robin Hood, and portrayed in the movie, The Insider, as a dapper aviator-lawyer. Scruggs’ legal triumphs rewarded him lavishly, and his success emboldened both his career maneuvering and his influence in Southern politics–but at a terrible cost, culminating in his spectacular fall, when he was convicted for conspiring to bribe a Mississippi state judge. Listen in...!

    Host: John Uustal of Kelley | Uustal | Email John (jju@kulaw.com) | Follow John on Facebook (@JohnUustalTrialLawyer) | Follow John on Twitter (@JohnUustal)
    Visit the Top Shelf Trial School Book Club Website: Trial School Top Shelf
    Follow Trial School on Social Media: Facebook (@TrialSchool) | Twitter (@Trial_School) | Instagram (@Trial_School)
    Book: The Fall of the House of Zeus by Curtis Wilkie
    Guest: Curtis Wilkie, Author
    Guest: Jim Bartimus of BARTIMUS FRICKLETON ROBERTSON RADER
    Guest: John Gomez of Gomez Trial Attorneys
    Guest: Chris Tisi from Levin Papantonio
    Guest: Cale Conley of CONLEY GRIGGS PARTIN
    Guest: Julie Kane of COLSON HICKS EIDSON
    Guest: Rich Newsome of Newsome | Melton
    Guest: Harold Pryor, Broward State Attorney
    Guest: Mel Orchard of The Spence Law Firm 
    Watch the Webinar Video: The Fall of the House of Zeus
    About Trial School:
    Trial School is a private, confidential, and invitation-only organization that provides education and training for lawyers who represent people. Trial School is different from all other trial advocacy programs in that it features a unique Mixed Method Advocacy or “MMA” approach. To apply click HERE.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2022.
    -----------------
    Production House: Flint Stone Media
    Copyright of Trial School 2024.

    • 1 hr 16 min

Top Podcasts In Business

Private Equity Podcast: Karma School of Business
BluWave
Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin
Money News Network
The Ramsey Show
Ramsey Network
REAL AF with Andy Frisella
Andy Frisella #100to0
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
DOAC
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Vox Media Podcast Network

You Might Also Like

Bone Valley
Lava for Good Podcasts
The Prosecutors
PodcastOne
Serial
Serial Productions & The New York Times
Witnessed: 19 Days
Sony Music Entertainment / Campside Media