Mastering the Deposition 101: The Nuts and Bolts (IL) (Recorded Package and OnDemand Streaming)

What You Will Learn

Part 1: Tuesday, July 16, 2024

1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Basic Process and Procedure
Daniel Campbell

• Scheduling depos and typical challenges
• Noticing the depo
• Dealing opposing counsel who makes scheduling difficult
• Video Recording and Expenses
• Deposition timing during the course of your discovery phase
• Depositions are done, new information comes to light, another depo is needed – now what?
• State Rules re: Using Depos in Court Proceedings
• FRCP 32. Using Depos in Court Proceedings
• Other differences between state and federal deposition rules

1:30 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
Strategic Planning
Daniel Campbell and Jennifer Cascio 

• Evidence depositions v. Discovery depositions
• Understanding your goals
• Keeping your deposition goal-driven
• Is this depo really necessary?  Determining whether the depo is worth the time and money
• Who should attend and why
• Preparing specific questions and outlines v. focusing on themes
• Preparing for “unexpected” answers or other difficulties
• The percipient witness vs. the PMK
• When opposing counsel hides the ball related to PMKs
• When the other side’s PMK doesn’t know anything
• Strategies for using the depo at your hearing or trial

2:10 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
BREAK

2:20 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
Witness Preparation
Brian Eldridge and Jill Felkins 

• Tips and strategies
• Difficulties to avoid
• Your percipient witness vs. your PMK
• When your witness won’t prepare
• When your witness won’t listen to you as you prepare them
• When your witness is going to be a disaster
  • What to do if you are working under a more senior partner who makes the decisions
  • What to do if you are the decision maker
• Ethical considerations

3:10 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
BREAK 

3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
Handling Documents & Exhibits
Heidi Wickstrom  

• Making the record
• Getting the authentication you need
• Admissibility at trial
• Demonstration of introducing and authenticating an exhibit and then using it in questioning

3:35 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Expert Witness Depositions
Heidi Wickstrom and Brian Eldridge

• Your Expert Witness:
  • Choosing your Expert Witnesses
  • Preparing your Experts for deposition
  • When you discover during witness prep that your Expert Witness is a disaster
  • Strategies to show your Expert’s qualifications
• The Opponent’s Expert Witness Deposition:
  • Effective opposition research options
  • Strategies to attack their Experts
  • Attacking the expert with his/her own words from various sources
• Using Motions in Limine to exclude expert or testimony
• Demonstration of an Expert Witness Depo 

 Part 2: Thursday, July 18, 2024

1:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. 

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Impeaching the Witness – Practical Advice and Strategies
Kristen Prinz  

• When, why and why not?
• Impeaching with Prior Inconsistent Statements
• Impeaching by showing bias and motivation
• Impeaching by showing (in)competency
• Impeaching by attacking character for truthfulness
• Differences between/strategies re: impeaching during depo v. impeachment during trial
• Demonstration of impeaching a witness during a depo
• Demonstration of using a deposition transcript during trial for impeachment purposes

1:45 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
The Online Depo
Kristen Prinz 

• Best practices
• What to watch out for
• Adapting traditional techniques and resources

2:10 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
BREAK

2:20 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Deposition Objections
Kristen Hudson and Michael Leonard  

• How do I do it?
• Why do I do it?
• Objection strategies
• What to avoid
• Biggest risks in objecting and not objecting
• Specific objections and real-world examples
• Calling the judge
• How to avoid calling the judge
• Demonstration and discussion focusing on common or difficult objections

3:30 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
BREAK 

3:35 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Handling the Difficult Witness and/or Opposing Counsel
Joe Kish and Michael Leonard 

• The angry opposing counsel – what do you do?
• When opposing counsel yells  – how to handle
• Opposing counsel that objects to everything, how do you handle?
• The witness keeps obfuscating or saying “I don’t remember” to everything, now what?
• You know the witness is lying – is there anything you can do?
• How to keep the depo from getting out of control
• Calling the judge
• How to avoid calling the judge
• Demonstration and discussion focusing on both topics (difficult witnesses / opposing counsel) 

Testimonials

“Wonderful program for a new lawyer such as myself to learn about the fundamentals of depositions. I thought all the speakers were fantastic. The set-up of the course was great, and everything seemed to be well done.” – Josephine Tintera, Esq.

“I thought this was an excellent course. I would wholeheartedly recommend, for both new attorneys and folks who have been doing this for years.” – Elizabeth Homsy, Esq.

“I thought both sessions were excellent. Presenters were all clearly experienced and presented the material very well.” – Dolores Ayala

“Great speakers and information. Very satisfied with the material covered. Enjoyed the mock deps.” – Delaney Hunt, Esq.

“Excellent depth of the content and application to real-life problems. It made the lesson meaningful and far more helpful.” – Teresa Russo, Esq.

“As someone just starting in civil practice, I felt these explanations were basic enough without being boring, and absolutely helped me understand the different aspects of depositions and the depth of preparation needed.” – Josephine Tintera, Esq.

“Well laid out! It was very informative and helpful! I learned some things I didn’t know about deposition, so it was useful for even those of us who have done a few of them!” – Elizabeth Homsy, Esq.

“Great information and panelists!” – Valeria F. Benitez, Esq.

“I thought the presenters did a great job of going over relevant rules and how they apply in practice.” – Nathan Nash, Esq.

“Excellent program. Very informative and easy to follow.” – Mohammad Owaynat, Esq.

“As a brand-new attorney, I appreciated the speakers not glossing over topics that are likely well-known by experienced attorneys. Instead, they took the time to explain basic topics and talked about information that someone new like me would not necessarily be able to read-between-the-lines about. Great speakers!”

“I thought the speakers were great!” – William Ruffing, Esq.

“All presenters were well prepared and the slides were helpful.” – Daniel P. Fitzgerald, Esq.

“Great speakers; great content.” – Wayne Barry Slaughter, Jr., Esq.

“Program was excellent.” – Dolores Ayala, Esq.

“This was excellent! I have done a few depos in my time, and I still learned a lot!”

“I appreciated how things moved quickly. I also appreciated real world advice and experience.” – Julie Meglan, Esq.

“Good content. Got what I hoped to get regarding content.” – Matthew Ndonwi, Esq.

“I feel better prepared to take and defend depositions after the first day.”

“I thought all of the speakers did a fantastic job explaining their presentations as well as giving examples and tips of how they generally handle preparation, experts, and taking a deposition generally.”

“Highly informative.”

“I have never taken a deposition before and needed a deep dive overview, and this was very helpful to get all this information and hear different perspectives.”

“The topics were thoroughly covered.”

“Each speaker was clear and consistent and had their own individuality.”

“Good overview of depositions. I have never done a deposition but potentially have a couple coming up, and my office doesn’t do much litigation and hasn’t been able to provide good supervision.”

“Great program. Very detailed, lots of great information but clear and comprehensive, not too overwhelming.”

“All of the topics that were covered were things that I needed to hear and get a refresher in.”

“The information provided was so helpful and presented in a clear, concise manner.”

“I learned a lot! I enjoyed all the speakers and the topics that they covered. They were all helpful and did not shy away from explaining very basic details that someone new to practice would not understand.”

“Great program. Provided practical recommendations for conducting and defending depositions, both in person and virtual.”

“It helped with some areas that I generally have questions on. Additionally, I appreciate hearing other attorney’s strategies or tactics with regards to depositions.”

“Great speakers – loved the live examples and mock depos.”

“Thought the program was excellent. I think even though my practice doesn’t involve civil litigations, I can apply the lessons to taking and defending testimony in arbitrations.”

“Speakers were engaging, material covered balanced well between overview and specific practice tips.”

“Very good presentations. Great program.”

“I enjoyed the mock deposition. Webinar gave me more insight in what goes on or can go on in a deposition.”

“I found the mock deposition helpful.”

“The program was valuable and worthwhile.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“Highly informative.”

“I thought it was very useful.”

“Knowledgeable and engaging speakers.”

“It was very helpful.”

“Great content.”

“Good program for newer attorneys.”

“Very insightful.”

“Very informative with skilled presenters.”

“Excellent.”

“As I have just a basic understanding of depositions, these detailed explanations are helpful to help me expand upon my (limited) knowledge.”

“Thoughtful, valuable content.”

“It was overall good and helpful that it dove into specific rules.”

“Organized. The speakers were knowledgeable and focused on relevant content.”

“Receiving tips and advice on depositions was helpful.”

“I really enjoyed all of the speakers and would be happy to attend other trainings they are involved in.”

“Speakers did a nice job.”

“The program was very good.”

“All the speakers did a great job.”

“Great speakers, great demonstrations.”

“Very good.”

“Useful and helpful.”

“Great topic! Excited to learn more.”

The following testimonials are from our previous How to Master the Deposition programs held in Illinois:

“The panel covered every angle of approaching and completing a deposition. Great CLE. This was very helpful.” – Marrena Van Horn, Esq.

“Everyone was great – very knowledgeable about the subject matter and all speakers imparted great advice and insight.” – N.  McLaughlin, Esq.

“I appreciated the practical advice regarding how to deal with problematic situations which arise during the taking of a deposition.” – J. Scifo, Esq.

“I’m currently knee-deep in depositions, and I wanted to make sure I’m doing it well. I came out with helpful tools and ideas.” – Mary Karagiannis, Esq.

“Very satisfied. Everything was very informative. Thank you!” Jenna McMahon, Esq.

“Speakers used real life examples, which was incredibly helpful. Very engaging presentations!” – G. Nae, Esq.

“Everything was great. Each speaker was so informative and provided great examples and tactics. I learned a lot of useful information.” – K. Sifuentez, Esq.

“I learned a lot about expert witnesses, which would be useful in one of my current cases.” –  J. Kumar, Esq.

“Presentations were very informative and engaging. This was a tremendous program and covered the main issues concerning depositions. Excellent presenters. Great discussion of strategies to employ for different experts. Samera Ludwig offered valuable tips on when and why to make depositions and the strategy behind whether to object or not. Porter and Greenwalt gave an outstanding presentation with interesting and relevant videos – both entertaining and very helpful.”

“This was very informative. Better than reading books about the topic.” – J. Lin, Esq.

“I thought all topics covered were informative and to the point.” – M. MCallister, Esq.

“Satisfied. Michael Leonard was very engaging, especially with the role-playing. Andrew Porter and Paul Greenwalt made good use of videos.” – Ken Walden, Esq.

“Lots of good material and examples.” – M. Faller, Esq.

“Porter and Greenwalt are very good speakers.” – Caitlin McNulty, Esq.

“Thought all speakers were very interesting and informative.” – J. Young, Esq.

“I liked the anecdotes for examples.” – J. Davenport, Esq.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar. I feel that I now have the knowledge necessary to better choose witnesses to depose and how to properly and completely prepare for taking and defending such depositions.”

“Excellent written materials. Just reading through these materials was worth my time and money to take the course.”

“Loved the anecdotes! The sample production requests and outline for experts will be very helpful.”

“The mock deposition was a good way to connect the things discussed throughout the day.”

“Great overview with informed presenters.”

“Presenters were all excellent and really knew their stuff.”

“Very thorough and very informative.”

“Speakers were all excellent and presenting practical tips.”

“Very well done by all speakers involved. Deposition-taking seems much less daunting.”

“Good to have specific state/federal examples.”

“They covered everything. This was very thorough.”

“All of the speakers and content was great.”

“All presenters were well-qualified.”

“Practical and useful in my personal practice.”

“The presentations and materials were helpful.”

“Great content and covered relevant topics.”

“Packet information is very helpful/useful.”

“Easy to follow presentation.”

“Great delivery. Very informative.”

“Great speaker – good material for younger lawyers.”

Faculty

Daniel R. Campbell, Esq.
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery

Daniel Campbell focuses his practice on a variety of commercial litigation matters, including collective and class actions, trade secret misappropriation actions, and products liability actions and actions under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Daniel has argued before the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and has first-chaired or second-chaired several bench and jury trials. Daniel recently first-chaired a five-day jury trial in a police brutality case, and first-chaired a stage-three evidentiary hearing in a post-conviction actual innocence case. His commercial trial experience includes cross-examining major executives in federal court, and conducting direct examinations of fact witnesses and key expert witnesses. Daniel also has experience taking and defending party and expert depositions in large commercial actions, as well as managing large-scale discovery and production in numerous cases.

Daniel has vast state court litigation experience, including drafting and filing substantive briefs and arguing key motions, such as motions for summary judgment and motions for temporary restraining orders and trying evidentiary issues. Additionally, Daniel has worked on aviation product liability, bankruptcy, and trust and estate litigation in addition to his work in the class action space. Daniel advises clients on compliance with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, and represents clients in defense of actions brought under that Act. He serves on the Firm’s Technology Committee and helped to develop a Firmwide program covering deposition preparation and evidentiary issues.

While in law school, Daniel served as associate editor of The Elder Law Journal and as a Moot Court executive editor. He also won various American Bar Association (ABA) client-counseling competitions. In addition, Daniel served as a legal clerk for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and as lead counsel/advanced clinic student for the University of Illinois College of Law Federal Civil Rights Clinic. In this role, he won a case on a civil constitutional claim after a three-day jury trial in a federal court, as well as obtained a favorable settlement and substantial fee awards in two other cases. Daniel completed a total of four cases and two jury trials in federal court while attending law school.

Daniel has authored a comprehensive guide for clinic students at the University of Illinois College of Law for the Federal Civil Rights Clinic. Daniel also leads a boot camp seminar on impeachment and refreshing recollection, as well as acting as a guest lecturer for the trial advocacy program on the “Use of Technology in the Courtroom” and as part of the Fundamental of Law Practice course at the University of Illinois College of Law.

Jennifer M. Cascio, Esq.

Salvi Schostock & Pritchard P.C.

Jennifer M. Cascio joined Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. in March of 2020. She concentrates her legal practice in cases concerning personal injury, medical negligence, product liability, and mass torts.

Ms. Cascio brings an unparalleled knowledge of the chemical industry to the firm. Prior to joining Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., Ms. Casio worked at an international law firm where she was a member of the firm’s Energy, Environment and Infrastructure practice group. She has served as national litigation and trial counsel for a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Ms. Cascio has litigated hundreds of cases as lead counsel in both state and federal courts across the country and prides herself on obtaining favorable results for clients. She has experience litigating individual, multi-party, and mass tort actions involving personal injury, wrongful death, property damage, and commercial disputes.

Prior to her work at an international law firm, Ms. Cascio worked at a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm where she gained a passion for helping clients after a catastrophic injury or medical error. She loves that Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. offers her the opportunity to get back to her roots of being a victims’ rights advocate. In advocating for her clients, Ms. Cascio prides herself on getting to know every facet of her client’s lives to not only formulate the best strategies in the courtroom but to help her clients overcome the wide-ranging ramifications of their personal tragedies. Ms. Cascio prides herself on approaching every client’s case with the delicacy and care she would extend to her nearest and dearest friends and family. Her experience advocating for clients extends beyond the courtroom through drafting legislation, lobbying, and public relations efforts.

Brian Eldridge, Esq.
Founding Partner
Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge

Brian Eldridge is a trial lawyer who devotes 100% of his practice to civil litigation. Brian has a wide range of experience successfully litigating multi-million dollar, high-stakes cases on behalf of his clients. He concentrates his practice in products liability, construction/construction defect, transportation, premises liability, commercial litigation, mass torts, and class action matters. He has handled numerous cases involving death and catastrophic injuries, including paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, amputations and other significant permanent disabilities.

Within the commercial litigation context, Brian has successfully litigated cases involving breach of contract and allegations of fraud and bad faith. He has also handled numerous consumer class action lawsuits under federal statutes including the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In addition, Brian has litigated cases involving alleged environmental exposure to mold, vinyl chloride, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).

Brian was selected for inclusion in the Illinois Rising Stars list for eight straight years, from 2008 to 2015. No more than 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40 in the state of Illinois are selected for this honor. In 2013, Brian was honored to be named to Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” list. In 2015 and 2016, Brian was named an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers. The distinction of being named an Emerging Lawyer is reserved for the top 2% of Illinois lawyers who are 40 years old or younger and have been identified by their peers as proving themselves to be professional, ethical, and experienced at an early point in their legal career. In 2017, Brian was selected as an Illinois Super Lawyer, which is limited to 5% of attorneys in the state.

Brian’s practice philosophy focuses on being accessible and responsive to clients at all times. He is on the rapid response team for several clients and is frequently called upon to orchestrate immediate investigations. Through his years of practice, Brian has developed an extensive expert network, having worked with consultants in various specialized areas including medicine, engineering, construction, epidemiology, pharmacology, economics, federal regulations, safety standards, risk assessment and psychology.

Jill Felkins, Esq.
Shareholder
Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd.

Jill M. Felkins is a Shareholder in the firm’s Chicago office. Ms. Felkins is a trial and appellate attorney who devotes her practice to defending clients in the areas of products liability, premises liability, construction negligence, personal injury, class action, toxic tort, environmental litigation, transportation, and trucking. She provides a wide range of litigation services to her clients from initial analysis and pretrial workup through trial and appeal. Ms. Felkins practices in state and federal courts in Illinois, Indiana, and beyond. She has obtained summary judgment for national and local clients in multiple areas of law, including premises, toxic tort, transportation, and environmental contamination coverage litigation. Her appellate practice includes favorable results in post-trial and interlocutory appeals.

Ms. Felkins is a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. She also volunteers as a guardian ad litem through Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. In that capacity, she has successfully protected the best interests of multiple children in the Chicago area.

Kristen E. Hudson, Esq.
Of Counsel
Dickinson Wright PLLC

Kristen Hudson, Of Counsel in Dickinson Wright’s Austin and Chicago offices, represents businesses and business people in complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts in Texas, Illinois and across the country.  Kristen has won high-stakes challenges in a variety of substantive areas, from breach of contract, business and statutory torts, including fraud and the False Claims Act claims, to intellectual property disputes involving the protection of trade secrets and privacy. Kristen has significant experience with Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods. Kristen also has concentrated experience in lawyer professional liability and fiduciary liability, including high-net worth trust disputes. 

Kristen has served as General Counsel of mid-size law firm with offices in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, she has been seconded to clients for extended periods including at a large energy company and with a UK-based insurance company. With this experience to guide her, Kristen works to avoid court wherever possible for her clients, and pursues solutions that make the most business and financial success for her clients, including advocating aggressively when litigation is required.

In addition to her commercial litigation practice, Kristen is knowledgeable about all types of third-party commercial liability policies, including directors’ and officers’ liability, professional liability, employment practices liability, commercial general liability, products liability, cyber liability, among others. Kristen has experience on all sides of an insurance coverage dispute and business disputes involving the insurance industry.  As a policyholder lawyer, Kristen recovered millions of dollars in insurance proceeds for her policyholder clients.  Most recently, Kristen served as coverage and monitoring counsel on behalf of insurers.

Prior to attending law school, Kristen was a French teacher in the North Carolina public schools.

Joseph Kish, Esq.
Shareholder
Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney

Joseph Kish devotes a significant portion of his practice to the defense of business litigation, complex commercial litigation and technology and intellectual property law matters. He is skilled in the defense of employment matters, particularly employment mobility actions and state and federal employment discrimination actions. He serves as chair of the firm’s Complex Commercial Litigation and Technology & Cyber Risk practice groups. He is chair of the firm’s Pro Bono & Public Service Committee and is a member of the Strategic Planning, Associate Development, and Hiring Committees. 

He also represents clients in matters involving class action, as well as in defense of data breach, privacy, fraud, defamation, professional negligence and breach of contract claims. He also has experience in professional liability, focusing on lawyer liability, insurance coverage and bad faith. 

Joe maintains a national trial practice. He represents clients at both the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts and in jurisdictions nationally. While licensed to practice in Illinois and California, he is admitted to the bars of district and circuit courts across the country. 

As a result of his deep experience, Joe is frequently tapped to present on matters of law central to his trial work. In his role on faculty for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, he teaches trial advocacy, expert witness and deposition skills throughout the United States.

Michael Leonard, Esq.
Partner
Leonard Trial Lawyers

Mike Leonard is a nationally recognized “go to” trial lawyer. His trial practice concentrates in the areas of Federal and State criminal matters, in addition to civil employment, whistleblower, retaliation, qui tam (False Claims Act), commercial and business, and injury matters. He has successfully tried to verdict dozens and dozens of cases in the Federal and State courts, including in Illinois and across the country. Mike has spent his entire thirty-year career as a courtroom trial attorney and litigator. 

Mike is believed to be the only presently practicing attorney to have attained at least six or more complete not guilty jury verdicts on all counts and charges in favor of his clients in Federal criminal prosecutions brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Mike’s recent Federal criminal jury trials include four not guilty verdicts on all counts and charges, a dismissal of all charges during trial, and a mistrial. This includes one of the very few Federal criminal not guilty jury verdicts in the Northern District of Illinois in 2020. 

Mike’s results have been equally impressive in civil trials in the Illinois State courts, including in Cook, Kane, DuPage, and Lake Counties, as well as in Federal courts throughout the country – ranging from Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Virginia. Mike’s clients have prevailed before juries in those jurisdictions in cases involving employment discrimination, retaliation/whistleblowing, securities fraud, civil rights violations, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and a variety of other commercial claims. 

Mike has been repeatedly recognized as an outstanding trial lawyer by, among others, Super Lawyers, Leading Lawyers, American’s Top Criminal Defense Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and America’s Top High Stakes Litigators.

Mike has litigated or tried to verdict Federal and State cases in at least the following Federal or State jurisdictions outside of Illinois: Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, California, and Oregon.

Mike has appeared, briefed, or argued numerous appeals, including before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; the United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit; the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; numerous Illinois State Appellate Courts; the California Court of Appeals; and the Idaho Supreme Court.  

Mike also regularly represents and advises clients on employment-related matters, ranging from discrimination of all types, retaliatory discharge, False Claims Act/qui tam matters, employment contracts and separation agreements. 

Mike is a long-serving Adjunct Professor of Trial Practice at the prestigious Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

He regularly lectures and instructs on the art and science of trial practice.

Mike is a 1991 graduate of Loyola (Chicago) School of Law, where he was a member of the Trial Team and the Law Journal. Mike completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Iowa.

Kristen E. Prinz, Esq.
Founder and Managing Partner
The Prinz Law Firm, P.C.

Kristen Prinz is an employment lawyer, business counselor, and founder of The Prinz Law Firm.

Ms. Prinz represents physicians, lawyers, senior executives, and small business owners in matters ranging from employment agreements and non-competes to complex employment disputes. She is passionate about advocating for her clients’ interests and helping them achieve outcomes consistent with their professional goals.

Ms. Prinz has litigated employment disputes before state and federal courts at the trial and appellate level, and before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Cook County Human Rights Commission. She also has experience representing clients in arbitration proceedings.

As a business counselor, Ms. Prinz provides business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals with innovative and cost-effective solutions to their legal and operational problems, enabling them to fully realize their potential. She has leveraged her litigation and culture management experience to guide clients in implementing employment best practices, effectively training staff, and creating a productive workplace culture.

Ms. Prinz is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the National Employment Lawyers Association, and is Chair of the Nominating Committee for The International Women’s Forum.

Ms. Prinz was selected for inclusion in Crain’s Chicago Business’ List of 50 Most Influential Female Attorneys, and has been named an Emerging Lawyer by Leading Lawyers, as well as a Super Lawyer for 2019. Kristen received her J.D. with honors from IIT Chicago Kent College of Law and a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa.

Heidi L. Wickstrom, Esq.
Partner
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.

Heidi Wickstrom is a partner at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining the firm, Heidi spent her legal career as a trial attorney at the Pillersdorf Law Firm in New York, New York. Heidi concentrates her practice in representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice, birth trauma, catastrophic motor vehicle, and products liability cases. Heidi was a member of a trial team that obtained a million dollar verdict in a birth trauma case against St. Francis Hospital as well as a February 2024 verdict in a birth trauma case against the University of Chicago Medical Center for million, which is the second-highest medical malpractice verdict in Illinois history. Heidi is an active member of the American Association for Justice, serving on the Board of Governors, the Illinois Trial Lawyer’s Association, serving on the Board of Managers, as well as the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and New York Academy of Trial Lawyers. Heidi is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Syracuse University College of Law.

Fees

Seminar Materials are included with OnDemand and all recorded package options.

OnDemand Streaming!  On-Demand Streaming allows for a single person to view the seminar unlimited times until one year after the seminar is held.

Recorded Packages!  Recorded Packages allow for a single person to download and view the program recording and are also available via DVD or CD.

Discounted rates are available for 2-4 attorneys at your firm.  Licenses are available for law firms or agencies that would like to distribute the video package or OnDemand Streaming access to more than four attorneys at their firm or agency.

Fees:

OnDemand Streaming:  $429

Recorded Packages via Download or CD/DVDs:

Video Recording – DVD or Download: $429

Audio Only (for in your car, etc.) Recording – CD or Download:  $429

Order both the Video and Audio Only Packages for only $50 more – Download, DVD or CD: $479

$10 shipping and sales tax (in California) are added at checkout to DVD/CD orders.

This program will be recorded live on July 16 & 18. Because we record our seminars live and they are edited, OnDemand Streaming and Recorded Packages are available approximately two to three weeks after the seminar is held.

Your OnDemand access is good for up to one-year from the time of purchase.  Please be sure to select OnDemand Streaming to the right and check out. OnDemand can be watched from any type of device.

*The Video recording is a video of the webinar (with sound). The Audio Only recordings are audio files only and are for those who wish to listen to it without watching a video (such as in the car or while walking).

Note: OnDemand Streaming can be watched from any device. However, all download packages must be downloaded to a computer first, before transferring them to another device due to downloading as zip files containing both the video/audio and a large folder with seminar materials contained in the download package.

CLE Credit

IL General: This program is approved for 7.00 general CLE units in Illinois through 07/15/2026.

CA General: This program is approved for 7.0 units of general CLE credit in California.

New York: This program is eligible for credit in New York under New York’s CLE Approved Jurisdiction policy, for 7 CLE units. Pincus Professional Education is a CA Accredited Provider, which is a NY approved jurisdiction. See Section 6 of the New York State CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines for further information.