Preserving the Trial Record for Appeal in Florida Civil Cases (FL) (Recorded Package)

What You Will Learn

Part 1: Tuesday, August 1, 2023
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
The Concept of Preservation – Introduction and Overview

• Inside the judicial mind
• Organizing principles
• A (limited) safety net–fundamental error
• Types of error

1:30 p.m. – 2:35 p.m.
Before Trial Session 1:

• The pleadings
  • When must you amend?
• Non-final appeals—must you appeal?
• Summary judgment
  • Effect if denied
  • Effect if granted as to less than all of the parties
• Partial summary judgment–interlocutory
• Daubert motions
• Motions in limine
• Order definitively admitting, or excluding, evidence
  • Effect if granted
  • Effect if denied or ruling is reserved

2:35 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
BREAK 

2:45 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
Before Trial Session 2:

• Jury selection
  • Challenges for cause
  • Peremptory challenges
  • Claim of racial, ethnic, gender, or other bias
• Motions for reconsideration of interlocutory ruling
  • As distinguished from motion for rehearing
• Jury instructions
  • Submitting instructions
  • Objections
  • Are standard jury instructions required to be used?

3:35 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.
BREAK 

3:40 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
During Trial: Session 1

• Evidentiary objections
• When must you request a curative instruction or mistrial
  • When and how must you make a proffer
• What is, and is not, a speaking objection
• Request for sidebar conference
  • Effect if denied
• Exhibits
  • Making record if exhibits are excluded
  • Making record when witness refers to an exhibit
• Closing argument objections.
  • What if combination of objected-to and non-objected to closing argument
• Offers of Proof (Formal and Informal)

Part 2: Thursday, August 3, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
During Trial: Session 2

• Motion for directed verdict
  • When made
  • Effect if denied or not granted
• Motion for involuntary dismissal in bench trial
  • When made
• Verdict
  • When interrogatory verdict is needed
    • Two-issue rule
• Inconsistent verdict
  • When must you object
  • Distinguished from inadequate or excessive verdict

2:00 p.m. – 2:05 p.m.
BREAK 

2:05 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
Post-Trial Motions

• Time for motion for new trial or rehearing
• Time for motion to alter or amend judgment
• Motion for remittitur
  • Does motion need to specify amount?
• Where motion for directed verdict was denied
• In nonjury case, when may appellant may raise on appeal the sufficiency of the evidence?

2:50 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ensuring the Record is Complete

• Practical tips on getting the record prepared
• Preparing a Statement of Evidence where a transcript is incomplete

3:40 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Appeals

• What is an appealable order
  • Final
  • Non-final
• Cross-appeal
• Notice of appeal
  • What to attach
  • Where to file
  • What if filed in wrong court
• Does filing a notice of appeal abandon any pending post-trial motions?
• Concurrent jurisdiction
  • Retained by trial court on certain issues

Testimonials

“Very good and valuable seminar. Excellent faculty! Excellent program. The course was well-structured and concise. Well worth the time!” – William Gray, Esq.

“Judge Cope is a great lawyer and a great appellate judge.” – Susan Spurgeon, Esq.

“The webinar met my needs and personal objectives. This was a very good program. It hit on the topics I had hoped the speakers would discuss.” – David Persky, Esq.

“I thought the speakers were all very good.” – Kevin Fitzsimmons, Esq.

“I will do business with you again. I get bombarded by seminar offerings, and I recognize some speakers whom I find less than acceptable, shall we say? Your two presenters were great. As I told you, I’ve been doing similar seminars for a long time.” – Gerald Pierce, Esq.

“Judge Cope provided great content and knowledge.” – Ed Foster, Esq.

“I thought all the speakers were wonderful, well versed, and very experienced. It was obvious that they knew their materials from practical experience as well as preparing for the presentation. This was a wonderful program for appellate practitioners that went a little deeper into some nuances than others.”

“The information was concise and well-organized…The handout provides great information as to how lawyers are to navigate the case procedurally to preserve issues for appeal. Great organization and very useful presentation.”

“Judge Cope has such a wealth of experience on and off the bench. His viewpoints from this experience highlighted the importance of preservation for appellate practitioners.”

“I thought the program was very informative and easy to follow along. I like the easy-to-follow case law blurbs that are included, that way they can be easily jotted down and cited to for future use.”

“Excellent program! Really gives a great guide to all things preservation!”

“Thank you. Great seminar. Fabulous speakers. Well-presented. Excellent supplementary material.”

“Great topics that are important to appellate practitioners.”

“Very satisfied as it touched on all aspects of appellate practice and providing litigation support to trial attorneys.

“Extremely informative and helpful.”

“This was a wonderful presentation, particularly on the post-verdict motions.”

“Great seminar.”

“I thought it was informative and clear.”

“Excellent!”

“The program was very useful and engaging.”

“Easy to follow. Good presenters.”

“Very informative.”

“Very organized. Great tips.”

“Very good speakers.”

These additional testimonials are from a recent appellate program in FL with many of the same faculty:

“Great speakers; very informative program!” – Stephen M. Todd, Esq.

“The speakers were remarkably well versed in appeals.”

“Excellent.”

“Very informative.”

“The best part for me was the attorney’s fees lecture.”

“Very good job with all speakers and handouts.”

“Very informative material and helpful speakers.”

“Excellent presentations by all. Very informative and useful information.”

“The topic and content were both excellent.”

“Jovial speakers with interesting and pertinent content.”

Faculty

Hon. Gerald B. Cope, Jr. (Ret.)
Former Chief Judge, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal
Partner, Akerman LLP

A former Chief Judge of Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal and member of the court for 22 years, Gerald Cope is the chair of Akerman’s Appellate Practice. He represents clients in appellate litigation at the state and federal levels. Ranked by Chambers USA, peers say “He’s superb and doing great work.” He is a founding member of Akerman Bench, an innovative practice including former appellate and trial court judges providing the perspective of both sides of the bench. He conducts practice oral arguments for attorneys appearing in state and federal appellate courts, serves as a consultant on appeals, and provides support to trial counsel.

Mr. Cope serves as an arbitrator in cases administered by AAA and its international division, ICDR, where he has been appointed in commercial and maritime matters. He was recognized by the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar for his contributions toward the 2013 enactment of the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act in Florida. As a member of the Court of Appeal, he participated in approximately 60 appeals involving arbitrability of disputes, interpretation of arbitration clauses, proceedings to enforce or vacate awards, and comparable proceedings involving appraisal clauses in insurance contracts.

He has served as an adjunct professor teaching federal and Florida arbitration at the University of Miami School of Law. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s International Law Section and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. Mr. Cope also serves as a special master.

Christopher N. Bellows, Esq.
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Christopher N. Bellows is an appellate attorney who has handled complex civil appeals in the Supreme Court of Florida, all Florida District Courts of Appeal and the federal appellate courts.

Mr. Bellows also has significant experience in complex commercial litigation, including areas of contract law, Uniform Commercial Code, business torts, foreclosures, receiverships, replevins, construction disputes, landlord-tenant litigation, product liability, personal injury, first amendment, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, environmental law, professional malpractice, antitrust, securities fraud and shareholder disputes.

Kristen Fiore, Esq.
Partner
Akerman LLP

Board certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar, Kristen Fiore’s practice focuses on complex appellate matters. Prior to joining Akerman, Kristen served as a senior staff attorney for Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente and a staff attorney for Fourth District Court of Appeal Judge Fred Hazouri. During her clerkships at both the highest and intermediate levels of appellate courts in Florida, she reviewed hundreds of briefs and participated in countless appeals, exposing her to a broad range of appellate issues and providing clients invaluable insight in framing compelling arguments and preservation of error issues during the trial stage of litigation.

Kristen’s extensive experience encompasses civil and administrative cases touching on a wide range of law, including constitutional issues, discovery, class actions, damages, bankruptcy, malpractice, probate, Indian law, taxation, and family, among others. Significant areas of focus in her appellate work include financial, insurance, and labor and employment disputes.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Kristen held several roles in human resources and general management in the financial services and consulting industries. Kristen’s diverse background provides her unique perspective into the intricate issues facing her clients.

Jamie Billotte Moses, Esq.

MMPO Defense

Jamie Billotte Moses is an Orlando litigation attorney and a member of the firm’s Appellate Team. Ms. Moses focuses her practice primarily on state and federal appeals. She also has significant experience representing clients in real estate and broker litigation, professional malpractice litigation, along with insurance and bad faith litigation.

Ms. Moses is board certified in Appellate Law by The Florida Bar. Additionally, she is a Certified Circuit and Appellate Court Mediator. 

Alyssa M. Reiter, Esq.
Partner
Wicker Smith

Alyssa Reiter is a partner at the Wicker Smith Fort Lauderdale office where she focuses her practice primarily on handling appeals, litigation support, and insurance coverage matters.

In a career spanning over 30 years, Alyssa has handled over 100 appeals and is counsel of record in dozens of reported opinions. She has represented clients in a wide range of cases, including products liability, professional malpractice, commercial litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, vehicular accident, premises liability, and aviation. She has argued cases in the Florida Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit and the 7th Circuit, and numerous appellate courts throughout not only Florida and Illinois but the entire United States.

After the first 10 years of her practice in Florida, Alyssa moved to Chicago, Illinois. There, she headed the appellate department of a prominent litigation firm for many years. She achieved leadership roles in the Appellate Lawyers Association, being one of the only members to be asked to serve on the Board of Directors for three different terms. Alyssa was selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer in the field of civil appeals. In 2015, Alyssa was ranked #6 in the state of Illinois for women civil appellate lawyers. Alyssa also has earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating awarded by that organization.

Alyssa has been a speaker at numerous Continuing Legal Education seminars, primarily on legal writing. She co-authored a chapter of an Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education book on product liability. For several years she also was one of three civil appeals lawyers the Illinois State Bar Association selected to write summaries of Illinois Supreme Court opinions for an ISBA publication.

Alyssa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from the University of South Florida in 1984 and then earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida in 1987, graduating cum laude and Order of the Coif.

Jack R. Reiter, Esq.
Shareholder
Gray Robinson

Jack is a shareholder at GrayRobinson and is chair of the appellate practice group. He is board certified in Appellate Practice by The Florida Bar, AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and ranked by Chambers USA for appellate law. In addition to appeals, Jack focuses his practice on litigation and trial support matters in commercial and business disputes, insurance coverage issues,  products liability and negligence, and toxic tort law. Jack has handled trial support proceedings in state and federal courts in Florida and in multiple jurisdictions outside of Florida. He has experience in preparing and arguing complex trial motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, as well as motions in limine and motions for directed verdict.

Jack has served as chair of The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee, the Appellate Practice Section of The Florida Bar and the Dade County Bar Appellate Court Committee. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Tort and Insurance Practice Section and the Defense Research Institute.

Fees

Three Recorded Package options to choose from:

Video (with sound)* Recording & Materials Package – DVD or Download:  $429

Audio Only* Recording & Materials Package – CD or Download:  $429

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

For CDs, please add $8.50 shipping and, in CA, sales tax.

This program will be recorded live on August 1 & 3, 2023

*The Video recording is a video of the webinar (with sound). The Audio recording is audio only, for those who wish to listen to it without visuals (such as in the car).

Note: All downloads must be downloaded to a computer first, before transferring them to another device. 

(Recorded packages are available approximately two to three weeks after the seminar is held.)

CLE Credit

NY General: This course is eligible for approval, under New York’s CLE Approved Jurisdiction policy, for up to 6.5 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.

This program is approved for CLE in the states listed above.  Upon request, Pincus Pro Ed will provide any information an attorney needs to support their application for CLE approval in other states other than what is listed above.