Session Descriptions

Thursday, June 12: Ethics Pre-Conference

Taking Care of Yourself and Your Client Files: Competence, Well-Being and Client File Management | Sara Ayoubi

Part I will address an attorney’s duty to take care of themselves to satisfy RPC 1.1’s standard of competent representation. Part II will focus on competent file management. We will review the 2024 WSBA advisory opinion on client file requests and focus on balancing legal requirements and practicality, including what to do with your jury notes!

Navigating Ethics in Trial Practice | Corey Endo

Common ethical dilemmas in litigation range from communication with jurors to witness preparation and discovery practice. During this session, we will discuss advisory opinions from state and national bars that shape and guide attorney conduct in trial.

Generative AI in Legal Practice: Ethical Duties, Risks, and Practical Use | Nicole Owens

Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are rapidly transforming the legal landscape — not just by enhancing research and drafting, but by raising complex ethical questions. This session examines the intersection of emerging AI technology and professional responsibility, using real-world hypotheticals to highlight risks, benefits, and best practices.

Friday, June 13: Annual Conference

Smart Jury Selection: Leveraging AI to Create and Analyze Jury Questionnaires | Jason Lantz and Robert Flennaugh

This session will explore the use of jury questionnaires as a tool to identify and deselect jurors who may be unreceptive to case themes, exhibit bias related to the charge or demonstrate explicit or implicit bias. Topics will include developing effective questionnaires, analyzing juror responses, leveraging AI to enhance evaluation, and preparing for in-court questioning and deselection.

For Cause: The Art and Law of Excusing Jurors for Bias | Mark Middaugh

Prospective jurors often tell us they "think" they can set aside their biases, or tell us that they'll "do their best" to follow the law. This presentation will focus on these "wiggle words," discussing the art of convincing a juror to reveal their bias, the delicate dance of rehabilitation, and the law surrounding challenges for cause.

Safeguarding our Client’s Rights with Effective Jury Instruction Practice | Edwin Aralica

This session provides a practical overview of effective jury instruction strategy—from drafting instructions to navigating the WPIC website and avoiding common errors. It includes guidance on creating persuasive instructions, influencing deliberations, supporting appeals, and critically evaluating the WPIC’s limitations. This training will continue the eternal debate about whether the “abiding belief” language should be left in or taken out. Finally, inside knowledge about the WPIC committee will be shared.

Saturday, June 14: Annual Conference

Inside the Jury’s Mind: Unraveling Psychology, Bias and Decision-Making in the Courtroom | Keynote: Richard Gabriel

Juries don’t decide cases like lawyers or judges. As such, attorneys need to better understand how jurors see cases to better plan and execute jury selection strategies, as well as how to best present their cases in trial.

Here are a number of issues that Mr. Gabriel will cover in this interactive keynote address:

  • How to define bias to better articulate cause challenges
  • How to design questionnaires and voir dire questions to obtain more accurate information about jurors for peremptory challenges
  • How to build a better rapport and relationship with jurors in voir dire
  • How to better frame the jury’s role in deciding the case
  • How to frame the concept of reasonable doubt
  • How to tell a better case story for opening statement and closing arguments

Finally, Mr. Gabriel will discuss his Trust in Justice project, a two-year study which examined the public’s attitudes toward different aspects of the justice system: law enforcement, the courts, lawyers, judges, and corrections. The goal of the project was not only to better understand the public’s plummeting confidence in our justice system, but how receptive they were toward different reforms and improvements for the system.

GR 37 - An Appellate Court Perspective | Judge George Fearing

This session offers an appellate court perspective on GR 37 and its evolving role in jury selection. Participants will gain insight into the rule’s origins, its distinction from the Batson framework, and how appellate courts analyze issues of implicit bias and race-neutral justifications. The session will explore how appellate judges assess whether race or ethnicity may have been a factor in peremptory challenges, identify common errors seen on review, and provide practical guidance for defense counsel crafting and preserving GR 37 objections. Recent appellate rulings and broader trends will also be discussed to help practitioners navigate the shifting legal landscape.