Presenters: Nick Rowley, Courtney Rowley, Brian Ward, Henry Peacor, Keith Bruno, Aaron Broussard, Jakob Norman
Topic: Mini Openings (3:16:03)

Can you sum up your case in 30 seconds? How about in just 1 word? In this video from the 2021 TBH Big Sky Montana Retreat, you will learn how to get down to the bare bones of your case in order to compress your facts (even the damaging ones) into something short and sweet for your mini opening.

This video has 3 sections. In the first section, Nick and Courtney discuss the benefits of mini openings and share what should and should not be included. Brian and Henry give mini opening demonstrations, and for those of you in jurisdictions that do not allow them, Nick gives a demonstration on how to pepper in pieces of a mini opening into your voir dire.

In the second section (starting at 1:16:55), attendees present their own mini openings with real time input from Nick, Keith and Aaron. They learn how to precisely and effectively give their mini openings in 1 minute, then 30 seconds, then 1 sentence, and finally in just 1 powerful word.

In the third section (starting at 2:17:22), more attendees practice the same exercise, this time with Jakob and Aaron helping them hone in on the most significant elements of their cases.

Get ready to push pause many times throughout this video in order to practice your own mini opening and to pinpoint the most powerful 1 word description for your case.