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Fed Court BOOT CAMP: How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts & Bolts of Federal Practice

Home Study Courses

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Persuasive Brief Writing in the Trial Courts

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"If this faculty is an example of Pincus, I'll always attend.  Great work!"

"Best CLE course I have ever attended!"

"Motions presentation was worth the entire price.  Humor works!  Anecdotes were great!"

"I enjoyed the individual tips, stories & examples - makes it easier to remember procedures."

"A great primer for both new and experienced attorneys." - Peter Ton, Esq.

"Great program.  Law clerks' views are most valuable."

"What a great concept to have the clerks conduct the seminar!  So informative!" - Neyleen Beljajev, Esq.

"Specific and relevant."

"This was a great program!"

"[Speaker] added a lot of value to the program.  I've always wanted to hear her take on topics."

"The specific examples offered were extremely helpful."

"Entertaining.  Kept me awake during the entire program!"

"Excellent balance of substantive information, personal observations & idiosyncracies of bench potentially relevant to practitioners."

"Good alternative view."

"Excellent use of promotional materials to convey scope of curriculum." - Peter Ton, Esq.

"Overall, I was very pleased with this program. It is definitely worth the money and travel!" Christina Milligan

"All excellent speakers - both in content and delivery."

“Very practical information. Very helpful for negotiating the federal arena.” Helene Friedman, Esq.

“Great Job! An excellent course. Informative presentations!”

“Very good program – the law clerk perspective should be heard by all lawyers."

"Very happy. Not many CLE's specialize in federal law. I wish I had taken this course earlier!"

“Great practical advice.”

“I learned more about federal court civil procedure than any other class I have taken.”


Dates and Times


Course Summary

This is an invaluable, information packed seminar that will teach you all the things you need to know to practice in Federal Court, but never learned in law school. An annual conference, the program is a great nuts and bolts seminar for attorneys new to practice or relatively new to federal court. Experienced practitioners can also benefit by learning from experienced court attorneys. Hear the court’s perspective on what works and what doesn’t work, mistakes to avoid, and important issues to which you should pay attention. Court attorneys (Law Clerks) and a retired Federal District Court judge will teach you about motions, procedures, best ADR practices, discovery, and pre/post trial issues. Learn how to improve your Rule 12 and Summary Judgment motions, what to expect in discovery disputes, how to handle a settlement conference, as well as case management and pre-trial scheduling conferences. Come ready to ask questions about how to get things done!

The annual program is taught by career law clerks and a retired federal district court judge. In this seminar you will learn exactly what is expected of you, what you can expect from the court, and how to ensure you best represent your clients.

This is one of the best primers on Federal Court practice you can attend.

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What You Will Learn if You Attend This Seminar

  • Electronic filing and service overview, tips and hints;
  • Case management and administration (joint case management statement, case management conference order; scheduling, status and pretrial conference);
  • How to handle discovery matters before a magistrate judge and what to expect
  • Mandatory and Voluntary settlement programs, procedures, issues and tips for Fed Court
  • Default judgments
  • Magistrate trials
  • What to do and not do when filing a Motion to Dismiss, Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, or a Motion for Summary Judgment (including scheduling, citation issues, extensions of time, attachments, evidence, and statements of undisputed facts)
  • Motions in limine, exhibits, voir dire, jury questionnaires, jury instructions, and jury verdict forms
  • Writing tips for motions
  • Ethical practice and avoiding sanctions
  • Ex Parte motions
  • New Discovery Rules issues

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Fees

See Home Study costs below.

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Home Study Course

Purchase now »

Fed Court 5th Annual Boot Camp Conference - Los Angeles CDCA

Click above to order the audio recording of our Fed Court 5th Annual Boot Camp Conference-CDCA.  6.0 MCLE Units, including .5 units of ethics credit. Recorded live May 2009 in Los Angeles.

$379 plus CA tax and $7.50 shipping.


PDF Order Form


Fed Court 5th Annual Boot Camp Conference - San Francisco NDCA

Click above to order the audio recording of our Fed Court 5th Annual Boot Camp Conference-NDCA.  6.0 MCLE Units, including .5 units of ethics credit.  Recorded live April 2009 in San Francisco.

$379 plus CA tax and $7.50 shipping.


PDF Order Form


How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts & Bolts - '06 CD (Non District Specific)

Click above to purchase the audio recording of our Federal Court Teleseminar: How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts and Bolts. This is a live recording of our 2006 Teleseminar. 3.0 MCLE Units, including .5 units of ethics credit.

$295 plus CA tax and $7.50 shipping.


PDF Order Form


How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts and Bolts - '05 EDCA SAC DVD

Click above to purchase the DVD recording of our annual Federal Court Boot Camp: How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts and Bolts. Recorded live December 2005 in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento (taught by Law Clerks in the Eastern District, Fresno and Sacramento). 5.0 MCLE Units including .5 ethics credits.

$349 plus CA tax and $7.50 shipping.


PDF Order Form


How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts and Bolts - '05 SDCA DVD

Click above to purchase the DVD recording of our annual Federal Court Boot Camp: How to Practice in Federal Court: Law Clerks Teach the Nuts and Bolts. Recorded live, December 2005 in the Southern District of California (taught by Law Clerks in the Southern and Eastern District). 6.0 MCLE Units including .5 ethics credit.

$379 plus CA tax and $7.50 shipping.


PDF Order Form


MCLE Credit

See above for specific MCLE units.

Upon request, we will assist attorneys in asking for CLE credit in other states. 

Instructors

Donna Kirchner, Esq. (Northern District 2007 Seminar)
Career Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California

Donna Kirchner has been a career law clerk for Magistrate Judge Patricia V. Trumbull since 1997.  Prior to clerking for Judge Trumbull, Ms. Kirchner ran a successful solo law practice for more than four years, in which she handled cases involving employment law, IP and business litigation. 

Ms. Kirchner also served as a litigation associate at Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro from 1988 to 1992.  Ms. Kirchner earned her J.D. from Santa Clara University in 1988, where she was Research Editor of the Law Review. 

Laurie E. Smith, Esq. (Central District 2008 Seminar)
Career Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Central District of California

Laurie Smith is a career law clerk for the Honorable John F. Walter, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California. Prior to that, Ms. Smith litigated at several law firms in Northern and Southern California. Ms. Smith served as Managing Editor for the Virginia Tax Review law journal and is a 1996 graduate of the University of Virginia School Of Law.

Michelle A. Alig, Esq. (Central District 2008 Seminar)
Former Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Central District of California

Michelle A. Alig is a law clerk for the Honorable Suzanne H. Segal, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Ms. Alig previously worked as an extern with the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit. Prior to law school she served as a paralegal with the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C. Ms. Alig is a graduate of UCLA School of Law where she served as the Chief Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Technology.

Linn Van Meter, Esq. (Northern District 2007 Seminar)
Former Career Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

A very experienced law clerk, Linn Van Meter has spent more than two decades working for various judges in the Federal Court system in the Eastern District of California.  In 2009, Ms. Van Meter moved to the Federal District Court in Reno Nevada to serve as a career Law Clerk. Previously, Ms. Van Meter served as the senior law clerk for a Magistrate judge in Yosemite and before that she clerked for six years for the Honorable Anthony W. Ishii, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California.  Beefore that Ms. Van Meter served Honorable Dennis Beck, Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of California.  Ms. Van Meter was also a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of Nevada staff for five years. Ms. Van Meter is a graduate of Hastings College of Law and also worked as an extern with the Central Legal Staff of the California Supreme Court.

Hon. John Leo Wagner (Ret.) (Central District 2008 Seminar)
ADR Neutral/Hearing Officer
Judicate West

Judge John Leo Wagner has 20 years experience in conducting ADR processes. In 1997, he left the Federal bench to become the Director of the Irell & Manella ADR Center, where he engaged in a full-time practice as a neutral.  Currently Mr. Wagner is a hearing officer with the Dispute Resolution Provider, Judicate West.  He previously served for 12 years as a U. S. Magistrate Judge in the Northern District of Oklahoma. He was appointed to this position at age 31, after trying many substantial cases to verdict as a litigation partner with Kornfeld & Franklin. While on the Federal bench, he founded and administered a court-annexed mediation program and served as an ADR neutral, in addition to maintaining a full civil caseload.

Judge Wagner has successfully conducted thousands of mediations and arbitrations. He is well respected for his extensive experience with multi-party settlements and has often been called upon to resolve particularly complex or difficult cases including intellectual property, construction defect, environmental and mass torts, as well as securities and consumer class actions. 

J. Erik Stewart, Esq. (Northern District 2007 Seminar)
Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California

Erik Stewart is a career law clerk, currently working for a magistrate judge in Redding, in the Eastern District of California. Mr. Stewart previously served for five years as a Senior Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Mr. Stewart spent four years as an Adjunct professor, teaching legal research, appellate advocacy and persuasive brief writing, at U.C. Hastings College of the Law. Mr. Stewart has also clerked for a magistrate judge in the Eastern District of California, Fresno Division and was in private practice for four years prior to joining the court system. Mr. Stewart was the editorial consultant for the Ninth Circuit Practice Guide written by Paul Ulrich and Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood and published by Thomson/West.  In particular, he consulted for the 2004 supplement. 

Jeanine Percival Wright, Esq. (Central District 2008 Seminar)
Former Law Clerk, U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP
Instructor Portrait

Jeanine Percival Wright served as a law clerk for the Hon. Manuel L. Real of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Ms. Wright now works for Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP as an Entertainment and Media Litigator. Previously, Ms. Wright was an associate for Alschuler, Grossman, Stein & Kahan. Prior to that, she worked as a law student at the USC Law School Domestic Violence Clinic and a case clerk for Folger, Levin & Kahn. Ms. Wright is a graduate of the University of Southern California Law School. She is a member of the Order of the Coif and also served as the Articles Editor for the Southern California Law Review.

Robert J. Newmeyer, Esq. (Central District 2008 Seminar)
Career Law Clerk
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California

Robert Newmeyer is a career law clerk for a district judge in the United States District Court, Southern District of California. Previously, Mr. Newmeyer served for three years as a law clerk to the Hon. Roger T. Benitez, (then) U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of California at El Centro. Prior to that, Mr. Newmeyer served for six years as a law clerk to Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Hon. Roger C. McKee (ret.), Southern District of California, and for four years as a law clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge Hon. Jeffrey S. Wolfe (ret.), in the Northern District of Oklahoma. Mr. Newmeyer has also worked in private practice litigating cases in federal district courts in Hawaii, Montana, Maine, Texas, and Arkansas, and appellate courts in the 1st, 5th, 8th and 9th circuits.

Moderators:

Denise Mingrone, Esq. (Northern District 2007 Seminar)
Former Law Clerk, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Instructor Portrait

Denise Mingrone is a Partner in Orrick's Silicon Valley office, where she is a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation practice group.

Before joining Orrick,  Ms. Mingrone spent fifteen years as a clerk in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, including clerkships for The Honorable Richard Seeborg, United States Magistrate Judge; The Honorable James Ware of the United States District Court; and the Honorable Ronald M. Whyte of the United States District Court. During her tenure with the District Court, Denise also worked as a Judicial Staff Death Penalty Clerk for judges Vaughn Walker, Jeremy Fogel, D. Lowell Jensen, Saundra B. Armstrong, and Marilyn Patel. 

In her capacity as a Judicial Staff Death Penalty Clerk, Ms. Mingrone was appointed to the Death Penalty Work Measurement Group, a task force responsible for the creation of a national standard for capital case attorneys. 

Prior to working for the Federal Court, Ms. Mingrone was a litigation associate at Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel in San Jose.
 

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What attendees have said about this seminar:


"[Speaker] was very helpful in her analysis of Rule 12 Motions." - Neyleen Beljajev, Esq.

"Great speakers!  Helpful handout and full of insight!"

"Very informative and well suited for attorneys new to federal practice."

"Great program to demystify the federal court process for a beginner."

"Very useful tips!"

"Excellent nuts & bolts!"

"Excellent model pleadings in handout."

"Good handout!"

"[Speaker] is a very engaging speaker and really informative."

"The moderator was good at moving the pace of the seminar."

"[Speaker] was very knowledgable of current issues in particular."

"[Speaker] speaks frankly but with good humor."

"Great job in combining anecdotal experience with practical and substantive tips on practicing in federal court."

"Practical and helpful."

"Great!"

"All speakers were very knowledgable, friendly, and spoke clearly with poise and humor."

"Very good choices of topics - included a lot of insight for experienced practitioners."

"Discovery and Magistrate issues are often overlooked - [Speaker] did a good job with them."

"Presentations on motions were very well put together."

"Good discussion of 12(b) Motions and courtroom behavior and rules."

"Excellent insight and presentation!"

"Very educational."

"Very helpful tips from "the inside" of the court's chambers.  Always good to have reminders of best practices, etc."

"Great manner & style of presentation.  Liked short & pointed examples."

"Completely satisfied!"

"Great presentation of expertise & practice examples."

"Very good.  Kept the audience engaged and entertained.  Explained everything clearly.  Easy to follow."

"Excellent program!” James Arendt, Esq."

“Outstanding! Top-notch! Answered my number one burning issue in the first 15 minutes.”

“This was one of the most interesting, helpful and useful MCLE programs I have ever attended! Good coverage of practical topics.” Harvie Schrieber, Esq."

“Overall very helpful!” Ty Kharazi, Esq."

“Very knowledgeable speakers. Overall excellent program!” Jim Miller"

“Invaluable information as I start practicing in federal court.”

“All speakers were very impressive, knowledgeable – a great resource for practicing attorneys.”

"I am no longer afraid to practice in federal court."

“Great course with a lot of practical tips.”

“The outlines and attachments were very helpful.”

“Moderator and speakers were all very good.”

"The entire presentation was helpful to my practice."

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Return/Refund Policy for Tapes/CDs/DVDs

Tapes, CDs and DVDs are returnable if defective for a full refund or replacement, within 90 days of purchase.  Click here to contact us. 

 

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