Program Details
2026-10-15 14:30:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-10-15 14:30:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm ESTLearn how to turn persuasion science, cognitive bias, motivation and story into an opening that begins shaping the verdict before the first witness takes the stand. Jurors do not wait until closing argument to begin deciding a case. They begin with the opening statement.
What makes an opening statement persuasive before the first witness ever takes the stand? The answer lies not simply in what the lawyer says, but in how jurors think, judge, feel and construct a story.
In this fast-moving two-hour program, Dominic Gianna, veteran trial lawyer and nationally recognized master teacher of advocacy and persuasion science, combines persuasion science, cognitive-bias theory and script theory with the practical lessons from his acclaimed seminar, One Story. One Choice. One Moral., and his book, Opening Statements: Winning in the Beginning by Winning the Beginning (Thomson Reuters, 2025), already considered a modern classic on opening statements.
Participants will learn how to practice audience-centered advocacy, understand the biases and mental scripts jurors bring to court and show knowledge, control, motivation and choice—the factors jurors use to assign fault. They will also learn how to turn facts into a compelling people story, create a memorable theme, logline and moral, build an opening that begins shaping the verdict from the first word and thread one story, one choice, one moral, on theme from beginning to end.
Dominic J. Gianna 3:40 pm - 4:40 pm ESTAccompanied by state-of-the-art visual storytelling—not boring, text-heavy PowerPoint—this program delivers an extraordinary amount of practical, immediately usable advocacy in just two hours.
In just two hours, participants will gain a practical framework for building an opening statement that does more than preview the evidence. They will learn how to make the evidence meaningful, make the people matter and give jurors a persuasive story through which they can understand the case—from the very beginning.
Learn how to turn persuasion science, cognitive bias, motivation and story into an opening that begins shaping the verdict before the first witness takes the stand.
Dominic J. GiannaDominic J. Gianna is a shareholder, vice president, and member of the board of directors of Aaron & Gianna, PLC in New Orleans, where he chairs the firm’s civil litigation practice. A trial lawyer for 36 years, he has tried more than 150 cases in state and federal courts across the United States, from both the plaintiff and the defense side, in matters spanning complex commercial litigation, product liability, toxic tort, employment law, medical malpractice, major construction disputes, and antitrust.
Dominic J. Gianna is a shareholder, vice president, and member of the board of directors of Aaron & Gianna, PLC in New Orleans, where he chairs the firm’s civil litigation practice. A trial lawyer for 36 years, he has tried more than 150 cases in state and federal courts across the United States, from both the plaintiff and the defense side, in matters spanning complex commercial litigation, product liability, toxic tort, employment law, medical malpractice, major construction disputes, and antitrust.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
