Lawyer Prep is a full-service provider of skills-based education and training to legal professionals. With an extensive network of legal experts for on-site seminars and coaching, as well as a comprehensive library of online courses, Lawyer Prep can tailor its programs to fit most any budget.
Accounting & FinanceDarrell Dorrell, Financial Forensics Advanced Legal WritingRobin Boyle, St. John's University Advanced Research TechniquesCarole A. Levitt, Internet for Lawyers Contract DraftingScott Burnham, University of Montana Business DevelopmentPaul H. Burton, Vision Mechanix Effective CommunicationBlue Dragon Communications, A Harrington & Associates Company Leadership & Management, Individual ProductivityPaul H. Burton, Vision Mechanix Evidence, Deposition Practice, and Trial AdvocacyProfessor David A. Sonenshein, Temple University School of Law Law Firm Retreats |
Accounting & Finance
Darrell D. Dorrell, Financial Forensics
Darrell Dorrell (CPA/ABV, MBA, ASA, CVA, CMA, DABFA) is a founding partner of financialforensics®, a boutique forensic accounting practice in Lake Oswego, OR. He practices in civil and criminal matters throughout the US and has served as an expert witness/consultant in 500+ matters; additional assignments exceed 1,000. They include alter ego, anti-trust, bankruptcy, breach of contract, estate/gift taxes, family law, fraud, fraudulent conveyance/transfer intellectual property, lost profits, patent, solvency/insolvency, trademark, trade dress, and trade secrets. His writings and speaking engagements exceed 50 and 100, respectively, including the FBI, USDOJ, AICPA, NACVA and state and local law enforcement agencies.
A nationally recognized speaker and author, Darrell has delivered more than 100 presentations on financial topics during the last 5 years. He has provided training to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Department of Justice (USDOJ), Bankruptcy Bar Association, Oregon Bar Association, Washington Bar Association, National Litigation Support Services Association (NLSSA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Institute of Management Accountants, SEAK, CPAA International, Inc., AGN, Inc., Turnaround Management Association, and the California, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington Society of CPAs, among others.
Darrell has published more than 60 articles in the American Journal of Family Law, Business Appraisal Practice, CPA Journal, Journal of Accountancy, Litigation Counselor, National Litigation Consultants Review, Valuation Examiner, RIA’s Valuation Strategies, and the United States Attorneys’ Bulletin. Additionally, he has been cited in Bloomberg Wealth Manager, Business Week, IR Magazine, the Portland Oregonian and the Practical Accountant.
His forensic accounting, fraud, damages, valuation and related expertise is extensive. Most significantly, he co-authored the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) March 2005, Vol. 53 No. 2 issue, Financial Forensics I - Counterterrorism: Conventional Tools for Unconventional Warfare, and the May 2005 Vol. 53 No. 3 issue Financial Forensics II - Forensic Accounting: Counterterrorism Tactical Weaponry. Both issues are available via the public site. Overview of Training Services
Matan Feldman, Wall Street Prep
Matan Feldman is Chief Executive Officer of Wall Street Prep. Matan has served in several capacities on Wall Street - first as an Analyst in Chase Manhattan Bank's Mergers & Acquisitions Group in New York, and most recently as an Associate within JP Morgan's Equity Research Group, covering Food & Drug Retail Equities. Matan has worked at Lehman Brothers in London and Liberty Mutual in Boston. Matan received an MA in Economics with Honors from Boston University. Matan has taught accounting and finance seminars at some of the world’s largest investment banks and most prestigious business schools.
Advanced Legal Writing
Robin Boyle, St. John's University
Professor Boyle received a B.A. from Vassar College and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Professor Boyle practiced law with Dewey Ballantine in the area of corporate secured transactions and with Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler in the area of bankruptcy. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Tina Brozman for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York.
Since 1994, Prof. Boyle has taught legal research and writing at St. John's law school, and from 1995-2001, she served as co-advisor to the St. John's Moot Court Honor Society. A Certified Learning-Styles Trainer, Professor Boyle has lectured and published on the topic of teaching law students through individual learning styles. In 2005 she received the Faculty Outstanding Achievement Award from St. John's University. She also has served as Secretary to the Committee on Education and the Law for the Association of the Bar of the City of NY. Overview of Training Services
Cathy Crosson, Indiana University
Cathy Crosson has taught Legal Writing at Indiana University for 17 years, and for the past 20 years has practiced with the prominent First Amendment law firm now known as Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters in Los Angeles. She received her J.D. from Indiana University in 1982. Following a clerkship with the Indiana Court of Appeals, she joined the Weston firm as an associate. After several years of practice, she returned to Indiana University to teach Legal Writing at Indiana University, where she has served as Director of Legal Writing, and has garnered numerous teaching and service awards including the IU Trustees’ Teaching Award.
Professor Crosson has maintained an active appellate and motions practice with Weston Garrou. She is a member of the bars of California, Indiana, and the United States Supreme Court. Her extensive briefing work with the firm has included the briefing and argument of seven cases litigating First Amendment questions before the United States Supreme Court. Overview of Training Services
Diane Dimond, Duke University
Diane Dimond is a Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of Legal Writing at the Duke University School of Law. She teaches the first-year course in Legal Analysis, Research, & Writing and two upper-level seminars, Negotiation and Contract Drafting. She is a member of the bars of the states of New York and North Carolina, as well as a number of federal district and appellate courts.
Professor Dimond received her B.A., summa cum laude, in political science and French from the University of Iowa in 1973, and her J.D. from the Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 1977. She began her practice of law in New York City at a major Wall Street firm in the litigation department, and after six years moved to North Carolina, where she continued her practice in litigation, first as an associate and later as a partner, in a large North Carolina firm. After almost 17 years of practice, she joined the Duke Law faculty to teach full time in 1994, and was appointed as Clinical Professor of Law in January 2001. In 2004, she won the Duke Bar Association's Distinguished Teaching Award.
Professor Dimond has taught numerous Continuing Legal Education programs in the areas of legal writing and negotiation in various locations on the East coast. With Associate Dean Theresa Newman, she has taught programs on advanced legal writing to Assistant U.S. Attorneys at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Her program on negotiation was included in the annual “Best of the Best” North Carolina CLE programs in 2001. Overview of Training Services
Theresa Newman, Duke University
Theresa Newman is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Duke University School of Law. She also teaches an upper-level criminal law course and formerly served as the director of the first-year course in Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar, and several federal courts.
Associate Dean Newman received her undergraduate degree in English from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and her law degree from Duke, in 1988, with high honors and membership in the Order of the Coif. Before law school, she taught high school English for several years. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable J. Dickson Phillips on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then practiced in the civil litigation group of a large North Carolina law firm.
Associate Dean Newman has taught a number of Continuing Legal Education programs in the areas of legal writing and ethics, including a series of writing programs, with Professor Dimond, for the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. She also served for ten years as general editor of Law and Contemporary Problems, the nation's oldest inter-disciplinary law journal, and more recently edited a collection of essays entitled “Lawyer to Lawyer: North Carolina Reflections on the Practice of Law.” Overview of Training Services
Thomas Holm, UCLA
Thomas Holm is Director of the first-year Lawyering Skills Clinical Program at UCLA Law School where he also teaches Lawyering Skills. In 2000, he was awarded the University's Distinguished Teaching Award for Lecturers.
During law school, Professor Holm was notes and comments editor for the University of Minnesota Law Review, was elected to The Order of the Coif, and received the ABA's Edward J. Devitt Scholarship for excellence in trial advocacy. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Arthur L. Alarcon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and worked as an associate at the firm of Morrison & Foerster. Overview of Training Services
Richard A. Paschal, University of Tulsa
Richard A. Paschal is the Director of the Legal Writing Program at the University of Tulsa College of Law, where he has taught legal writing for ten years. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oklahoma, he graduated with Honors from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1976. Following his graduation, he served two years as a law clerk to a United States District Judge and then practiced commercial litigation for twenty years. During his time in private practice he served as an Associate Editor and Editor in Chief of the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Overview of Training Services
Hollee S. Temple, West Virginia University
Hollee S. Temple graduated first in her class from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, where she earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees. A graduate of Duke Law School, Professor Temple practiced as a litigator at Pittsburgh's Kirkpatrick & Lockhart before joining the College of Law faculty. Her recent work has appeared in the University of San Francisco Law Review and the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review.
In 2005, Professor Temple teamed up with Professor Grace Wigal to form Just Write Seminars, LLC, a consulting company dedicated to providing quality education programs focused on legal research and writing. Just Write Seminars has custom-designed live presentations for paralegal organizations and law firms in the Pittsburgh area and throughout West Virginia, and also provides one-on-one coaching services. Overview of Training Services
Grace Wigal, West Virginia University
Grace J. Wigal, formerly a litigator with Steptoe and Johnson, directs the Legal Research, Reasoning, and Writing and Appellate Advocacy programs at West Virginia University College of Law. A frequent speaker at the national Legal Writing Institute conference, Professor Wigal is a national officer of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. She has written numerous law review articles and book chapters, and is the co-author of Hospital Staff Privileges: What Every Health Care Practitioner and Lawyer Needs to Know.
In 2005, Professor Wigal teamed up with Professor Hollee S. Temple to form Just Write Seminars, LLC, a consulting company dedicated to providing quality education programs focused on legal research and writing. Just Write Seminars has custom-designed live presentations for paralegal organizations and law firms in the Pittsburgh area and throughout West Virginia, and also provides one-on-one coaching services. Overview of Training Services
Robert Volk, Boston University
Professor Robert Volk received his B.A. from Lake Forest College in 1973 and hid J.D., cum laude, from Boston University Law School in 1978, where he was a member of the Law Review. Professor Volk has been Director of the Writing Program at Boston University since 1982 and has taught numerous writing courses, including the First Year Writing Program and the Advanced Writing and Editing Workshop. He also teaches Legal Writing at Boston University's Summer Legal Institute in London. Overview of Training Services
Advanced Research Techniques
Carole A. Levitt, Internet for Lawyers
Carole Levitt has over 25 years of experience in the legal field as a law librarian, legal research and writing professor, attorney, and instructor. Ms. Levitt has provided customized Internet legal research training to thousands of legal professionals at conferences, seminars, in-house training sessions at law firms, bar and library associations throughout the country. Ms. Levitt is a member of ACLEA, in addition to serving as a member of ABA’s Law Practice Management Section’s Executive Council and its Publishing Board. She is a Past Chair of the California State Bar’s Law Practice Management and Technology Section and currently serves as a special advisor. Previously, she served on the Executive Board of the Los Angeles County Bar Law Practice Management Section. She is co-author of The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet (ABA 2008) and The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet (IFL, 2008). She is co-editor of the Internet Fact Finding for Lawyers newsletter (ALI-ABA), and has written numerous articles for a variety of print and web-based outlets. Ms. Levitt received her Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School, where she graduated with distinction and was a member of the school’s law review. She earned her Bachelor’s in Political Science and her Masters in Library Science at the University of Illinois. Overview of Training Services
Mark E. Rosch, Internet for Lawyers
Mark E. Rosch writes and speaks about Internet research, legal technology, and Internet marketing, and has provided customized training to thousands of legal professionals at conferences, seminars, in-house training sessions at law firms, and associations throughout the country. He is co-author of The Lawyer’s Guide to Fact Finding on the Internet (ABA, 2008) and The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet (IFL, 2008). Mr. Rosch is co-editor of the Internet Fact Finding for Lawyers newsletter (ALI-ABA) and has also written about the application of computer technology in the law office for Law Technology News, Law Office Computing, Los Angeles Lawyer, and the Los Angeles Daily Journal among other publications. With over 20 years of marketing experience, Mr. Rosch has developed and supervised the publicity, promotions, and marketing campaigns for numerous and varied clients, from legal portals to new media developers. Mr. Rosch is a member of the ABA, serving on the Law Practice Management Section’s Education Board, and ACLEA. He was graduated from Tulane University with a B.A. degree in Sociology. Overview of Training Services
Contract Drafting
Scott Burnham, University of Montana
Scott J. Burnham is a graduate of Williams College and New York University School of Law. After seven years of practice in New York City, he became a Professor of Law at The University of Montana School of Law, where he teaches Contracts and Commercial Law. He has taught at numerous law schools throughout the country and the world. He is the author of The Contract Drafting Guidebook and Drafting and Analyzing Contracts, both published by Lexis-Nexis. Overview of Training Services
Robin Boyle, St. John’s University
Professor Boyle received a B.A. from Vassar College and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Professor Boyle practiced law with Dewey Ballantine in the area of corporate secured transactions and with Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler in the area of bankruptcy. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Tina Brozman for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York.
Since 1994, Prof. Boyle has taught legal research and writing at St. John's law school, and from 1995-2001, she served as co-advisor to the St. John's Moot Court Honor Society. A Certified Learning-Styles Trainer, Professor Boyle has lectured and published on the topic of teaching law students through individual learning styles. In 2005 she received the Faculty Outstanding Achievement Award from St. John's University. She also has served as Secretary to the Committee on Education and the Law for the Association of the Bar of the City of NY. Overview of Training Services
Business Development
Paul H. Burton, Vision Mechanix
After practicing corporate finance law in the large firm arena for five years, Paul spent six years as General Counsel to two corporations. At the second, he also managed operations for the rapidly growing, 35-person professional services department which served a Fortune 500 client base. During Paul's tenure as corporate counsel he taught as an adjunct law professor, developed and participated in several CLEs, and consulted numerous start-ups during their emergent stages. Paul left the corporate world in 1999 to cofound what is today the largest online kayaking retailer in the country – Outdoorplay, Inc. (www.outdoorplay.com). After grooming a management team to run the company, Paul returned to the legal industry focusing on professional development consulting for lawyers and law firms. Today, he enjoys a national practice coaching, training and consulting clients in the areas of business development, leadership skills, and individual productivity. Paul also speaks and publishes frequently on professional development issues. Overview of Training Services
Silvia Coulter, Hildebrandt
For more than twenty years, law firms have relied on Silvia's expert advice on business, sales and service strategies. She has substantial experience in working with firms on their key client retention and growth strategies; business development education and training programs, client service strategies and women lawyers' initiatives. Silvia, a Six Sigma Green Belt, is a certified facilitator and works with law firms and legal associations to help shape and implement their business goals.
Silvia was chief marketing and business development officer at two global law firms from 1998 to 2005, where she built the marketing and sales functions. Since 1987 she was a principal at an international law firm marketing and business development consulting firm. Prior to her law firm business development career, Silvia spent 7 years as a key account sales specialist with a Fortune 200 company where she provided law firms with practice management technology tools. She was recognized for several years as one of the top sales leaders in the company.
She has authored numerous publications and is a frequent panelist and speaker at bar associations, specialty bars, CLE programs and legal marketing and business development seminars. Overview of Training Services
Jim Cranston, Hildebrandt
Jim is widely recognized as a leading authority on sales and business development in the legal industry. Jim has developed a unique method for teaching sales skills to lawyers and law firms. He consistently helps professionals win new clients and grow firm revenues through his innovative programs.
For nearly four years, Jim was a member of the senior leadership team at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman where, as the Director of Business Development, the firm was listed as a top 10 firm in the annual BTI Client Service Study for three years straight. His experience includes:
- Launching more than forty successful client teams and authoring the client team planning process, initiating the practice section business planning initiative;
- Serving as a business development leader and client development coach to client relationship partners working with Fortune 500 clients;
- Establishing firm-wide business development training and coaching programs;
- Developing and teaching programs to more than 1,500 lawyers
Prior to his work in the legal industry, Jim spent fourteen years selling consulting services in Northern and Southern California. In 1990, Jim was one of the first recognized business development executives among the Big Eight where he served as regional sales manager at Price Waterhouse. Four years later, he was recruited to grow the consulting practice at Arthur Andersen as the Director of Business Development. During his seven-year tenure at Andersen, Jim received the prestigious “Sales Excellence Award” on four occasions and later received the firms “Top Producer” award. Jim also trained all newly hired business development professionals at the firm’s professional development center in St. Charles.
Paul H. Burton, Vision Mechanix
After practicing corporate finance law in the Portland, Oregon, large firm arena for five years, Paul spent six years as General Counsel to two area corporations. At the second, he also managed operations for the rapidly growing, 35-person professional services department. During Paul's tenure as corporate counsel he taught as an adjunct law professor at The Lewis & Clark Law School, developed or participated in several CLEs, and consulted numerous start-ups during their emergent stages. As a former attorney who has worked in both the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds, Paul is well qualified to work with lawyers and law firms in all types of practices. He is passionate about what he does and derives great satisfaction from his clients' successes, be they large or small. View Demo
Effective Communication
Blue Dragon Communications, A Harrington & Associates Company
Helping professionals to stand up and speak successfully defines what Blue Dragon Communications does best. Blue Dragon Communications conducts training and coaching sessions for thousands of executives, legal professionals, business owners and athletes in the art of speaking and presenting with confidence, clarity and impact.
Denise Harrington started the company sixteen years ago from a stirring public business luncheon speech on the “Power of Presenting with Impact.” From that one lecture, Denise obtained many of her top clients and produced a referral base that continues to expand. Her clients include Autodesk, Nike Inc. Nike International, Oregon Department of Transportation, the Portland Trail Blazers, Intel, Mentor Graphics and Victoria’s Secret to name a few. Denise has coached top executives such as Wally Rhines, CEO of Mentor Graphics, and Phil Knight, CEO, Nike, Inc. Blue Dragon Communications delivers the highly effective communications training programs globally to client locations in UK, France, Italy, Germany, The Czech Republic, India, China and of course the United States.
Through Denise’s leadership along with a highly skilled team of trainers, the company offers training and consulting for a variety of professional development skill sets including, Presentation Skills Training, Executive Coaching, Media Training, Building Highly Effective Teams, Leadership training, Women’s Leadership Program, Organizational Development, Complex Communications, Speech Language Pathology, Annual Meeting Presentations and One on One Coaching. Blue Dragon Communications has prepared clients for such media programs as CBS’s 60 Minutes, ABC’s Prime Time, HBO’s Real Sports, ESPN’s Up Close, and ABC’s Night Line. Overview of Training Services http://www.bluedragoncommunications.com/news/videos
Rob Toomey, SpeedReadingPeople
Rob Toomey is a Vice President and Master Trainer with SpeedReading People. The company offers a unique communication training program that teaches participants to quickly and accurately assess the personality type characteristics of virtually any individual, based on readily observable clues such as demeanor, energy level, speech patterns and body language. The goal is to enable participants to communicate with colleagues and clients exactly the waytheywant and need to be communicated with--greatly increasing participants ability to sell to and work efficiently with people very different from themselves.
Prior to joining SpeedReadingPeople, Rob was a corporate attorney for five years beginning with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault and then with Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Boston, where he focused primarily on venture capital and leveraged buy-out transactions. He holds a B.A. with honors in both Philosophy and English Literature from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. Overview of Training Services
Leadership & Management, Productivity
Paul H. Burton, Vision Mechanix
After practicing corporate finance law in the large firm arena for five years, Paul spent six years as General Counsel to two corporations. At the second, he also managed operations for the rapidly growing, 35-person professional services department which served a Fortune 500 client base. During Paul's tenure as corporate counsel he taught as an adjunct law professor, developed and participated in several CLEs, and consulted numerous start-ups during their emergent stages. Paul left the corporate world in 1999 to cofound what is today the largest online kayaking retailer in the country – Outdoorplay, Inc. (www.outdoorplay.com). After grooming a management team to run the company, Paul returned to the legal industry focusing on professional development consulting for lawyers and law firms. Today, he enjoys a national practice coaching, training and consulting clients in the areas of business development, leadership skills, and individual productivity. Paul also speaks and publishes frequently on professional development issues. Overview of Training Services
Evidence, Deposition Practice, and Trial Advocacy
Professor David A. Sonenshein, Temple University School of Law
Professor David A. Sonenshein teaches at the Temple University School of Law. A graduate of Cornell University and the New York University School of Law, Professor Sonenshein has taught at Boston University, DePaul University, and was the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. He was named the I. Herman Stern Professor of Law at Temple in 1992. Professor Sonenshein has received the Outstanding Professor Award at both DePaul and Temple Law Schools a total of 6 times. In 2004, Professor Sonenshein was honored as one of the University’s finest teachers in receiving the University’s Lindback Award for Outstanding Teaching. In 2007, Professor Sonenshein was awarded the University’s Great Teacher Award.
Professor Sonenshein is the co-author with the late Irving Younger and Professor Michael Goldsmith of the casebook, Principles of Evidence. In addition, Professor Sonenshein has co-authored ten other books on Evidence as well as numerous articles on the subjects of Evidence and Civil Procedure.
Professor Sonensein is formerly the Director of the American Institute for Law Training within the Office, the in-house training arm of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association (ALI-ABA). He has performed training in Trial Advocacy, Deposition Practice, Evidence, Motion Practice and Negotiation Skills at America’s premier law firms and government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, Professor Sonenshein teaches evidence to Federal Judges for the Federal Judicial Center.
Finally, Professor Sonenshein earned the Francis E. Rawle Award from the American Law Institute and American Bar Association for his outstanding contributions to the field of post-admission legal education. Overview of Training Services
Law Firm Retreats
Leadership Academy
Lawyer Prep’s Leadership Academy consists of programming geared toward senior associates, junior partners, and law firm administrators. Topics include:
- Leadership in the law firm setting
- Support staff, practice group, and firm-wide management
- Interpersonal communication
- Presentations and public speaking
- Business development
- Individual productivity
- Work/life balance
Business Lawyer Boot Camp
The Business Lawyer Boot Camp provides attorneys with a crash course in the language and skills of the business professional. Topics include:
- Accounting
- Financial reports
- Business valuation
- Investment banking
- Contract drafting
- Business intelligence and due diligence