Direct Examination CLE for Trial Attorneys: Storytelling, Structure, and Strategy

Apr 15
2 min read

Cross-examination gets all the attention. Direct examination is where cases are actually built, and for most litigators, it's the less developed skill. This CLE is a direct correction to that imbalance.

Mary Sofia is a Portland-based criminal defense attorney with over a decade of trial experience representing adults and juveniles, a Forbes Advisor Top Ten Criminal Defense Lawyer in Portland, and a frequent CLE presenter at OCDLA's Search & Seizure Conference, OCDLA's Annual Summer Conference, and county bar associations across Oregon. She knows what works in a courtroom and how to teach it.

The course opens with a problem most litigators recognize but rarely name: direct examination is routinely underprepared, leaving critical evidence poorly presented and case theories unsupported when it matters most. Sofia's framework addresses that from the ground up. She walks through a systematic process for discovering a witness's story through effective interviews, organizing testimony with a narrative framework, and presenting evidence in a way that fact-finders can follow, remember, and believe. The course covers how to use visuals strategically to guide inference, delivery methods that improve retention and engagement, and how to execute an effective redirect when cross has done damage.

What sets this course apart is the emphasis on deliberate preparation as a craft. Sofia doesn't just cover what to do at the podium, but also the work that has to happen before you get there.

Trial attorneys who wants to make direct examination as strong as the rest of their case will find this course immediately applicable.

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