Beginning Successful Trial Preparation Early and Weaving it Into Every Step of Your Case

Learn how to begin successful trial preparation early and weave it into every step of your case. In this podcast, you’ll hear from Vincent N. DePalo of Smith Duggan Buell & Rufo LLP and Melissa Juárez of the Suffolk Superior Court. The full program, recorded on 10/15/2020, is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.

Speakers:

VINCENT DEPALO is a partner at Smith Duggan Buell & Rufo LLP in Boston. He concentrates his practice in complex civil litigation, particularly toxic torts; products liability; and insurance defense. His courtroom experience includes a recent defense verdict in the first joint asbestos-tobacco exposure trial in Massachusetts history. This six-week jury trial garnered national attention and resulted in a $43.1 million verdict against a codefendant tobacco company. The jury found Mr. DePalo’s client not liable on all counts. Mr. DePalo was published in both legal and scientific journals. Most recently, he coauthored the Massachusetts law chapter in the Claims Professional Desk Reference manual published by the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel. He previously served as a Judicial Fellow for Superior Court Associate Justice Dennis J. Curran. During this time, Mr. DePalo gained unparalleled access to dozens of juries after they rendered their verdicts as part of a research project analyzing jury education levels, the effectiveness of early judicial intervention, and presumptive mediation in civil cases. In addition to practicing law, Mr. DePalo is an adjunct professor at Northeastern School of Law where teaches torts to LLM students and he has guest lectured at Brown University, Tufts University, and Roger Williams School of Law.

MELISSA A. JUÁREZ is an assistant clerk magistrate in Suffolk Superior Court, where she has worked for over a year. She obtained her B.A. degree in political science from Boston University and her J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law in 1997. During her twenty-three year legal career, Ms. Juárez has worked in the public and private sectors as a litigator, trying numerous Superior Court and District Court civil and criminal jury trials as lead counsel. She was an assistant district attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office for five years, where she handled District and Superior Court criminal cases. For two years, she was counsel to the City of Boston Employment Commission, where she drafted, negotiated, and reviewed all development contracts on commercial construction projects on behalf of the Commission, ensuring compliance with city residency requirements. Ms. Juárez also ran her own law practice for several years, handling real estate transactions, G.L. c. 208, § 1A and 1B divorce actions, and general civil litigation. As an attorney for the Department of Correction, Ms. Juárez represented employees in civil litigation in state and federal court, handled G.L. c. 123A, § 9 sexually dangerous persons civil jury trials in Superior Court, and represented the Commonwealth in appeals of trials, including writing appellate briefs and oral arguments before the Appeals Court. She is a past executive board member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and delegate and is a past executive board member and officer of the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys.

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