Trial Lawyers University
Dan Ambrose, Trial Lawyers University
Recent Episodes
Picture learning trial methodology while fishing in the afternoon, shooting archery, and riding horses across 1,750 acres of Missouri ranch land. Celebrated trial lawyer Sach Oliver tells host Dan Ambrose how this "magical place" will host his intensive “Depositions Our Trial” workshops starting in November 2027. Before that, at TLU Beach in June 2026, Sach will share lessons about managing money that he learned from his grandparents. Tune in as he unveils his vision for the revolutionary legal education destination and his insights about how money works.
Train and Connect with the Titans
☑️ Sach Oliver | LinkedIn
☑️ Oliver Law Firm | X | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram
☑️ Sach’s book Depositions Are Trial
☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos
☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
2025 Programming
☑️ TLU Performance Skills | Cabo Edition (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Dec. 15-22, Cabo San Lucas, MX
2026 Programming
☑️ Dark Arts Trial Craft Bootcamp (Dan Ambrose and David Clark), Jan. 13-17, Las Vegas, NV
☑️ Bootcamp & Ski (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Feb. 8-15, Lake Tahoe, CA
☑️ Depostions Are Trial (Sach Oliver and Dan Ambrose), March 3-7, Rogers, AR
☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA
Episode Snapshot
- Sach's multi-generational ranching heritage began with his great-great-grandfather's homesteaded property; in 2009, he and his wife started the Oliver Angus Ranch in Rogers, Arkansas.
- His new 1,750-acre ranch in Missouri will feature two rivers, multiple caves, a train bridge, and will include five authentic log cabins housing 60-80 guests, a glass chapel, and a 55,000-square-foot indoor arena.
- Sach’s “Depositions Are Trial” workshops will be held at the Missouri ranch starting in November 2027.
- Before “Depositions Are Trial” relocates to Missouri, it will be held at the Arkansas ranch from March 3-7, 2026.
- At TLU Beach, June 3-6, 2026, Sach will present on best practices for managing money.
- Sach explains the foundational lessons about money laid by his grandparents: "They had a very strict, regimented cashflow methodology.”
- Sach’s accolades include serving as president of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association (2022-2023) and being named Outstanding Young Trial Lawyer (2008) and Outstanding Trial Lawyer (2015).
- Sach's father modernized the family's financial methodology by leveraging positive cashflow assets to buy more assets, keeping 6-12 months overhead in cash and paying off highest interest debts first.
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Clashes with the judge. Nineteen expert depositions. Ten hours of court hearings leading to trial. Outcome: $51.3 million for a construction worker who was electrocuted on a job site. Mohamad Ahmad discusses the remarkable journey of the Maggio case and his career in this conversation with host Dan Ambrose. After getting no job offers after his UCLA Law summer clerkship and starting his own firm, Mohamad endured a decade-long drought between seven-figure verdicts and spent about $1 million of his own money on Maggio. Tune in for his insights about assembling a trial team, mastering cross-examination, and videotaping yourself – an uncomfortable but essential training tool.
Train and Connect with the Titans
☑️ Mohamad Ahmad | LinkedIn
☑️ Kermani LLP | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X
☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos
☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
2025 Programming
☑️ Case Story Bootcamp: (Dan Ambrose and Eric Oliver), Oct 28-Nov 1, Las Vegas, NV
☑️ TLU Performance Skills | Cabo Edition (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Dec. 15-22, Cabo San Lucas, MX
2026 Programming
☑️ Bootcamp & Ski (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Feb. 8-15, Lake Tahoe, CA
☑️ Depostions Are Trial (Sach Oliver and Dan Ambrose), March 3-7, Rogers, AR
☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA
Episode Snapshot
- After graduating from UCLA law with no job offers, Mohamad started his own firm.
- His first trial was a restraining order case, where he defeated a 20-year veteran lawyer from a white shoe San Francisco firm.
- In 2013, Mohamad obtained his first seven-figure verdict ($1.57 million) on a case that was going to settle for $45,000.
- After a 10-year drought between major personal injury verdicts, Mohamad spent about $1 million of his own money preparing the Maggio case, in which he represented a construction worker who had been electrocuted at a solar plant.
- During the trial, Mohamad waived all past economic damages and future lost wages, asking for only $2.7 million in future medical costs.
- When a defense's electrical expert claimed during cross-examination that the "bible" of electrical injury contained errors, Mohamad challenge him with an exchange that left the jury laughing.
- In 2023, the Maggio jury awarded $51.3 million — the highest in Monterey County history.
- Mohamad credits TLU bootcamp training for teaching him to slow down, maintain eye contact, and get comfortable being uncomfortable by videotaping himself repeatedly
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Alex Ivanov’s journey to Angel Reyes & Associates in Texas started when he fled his native Belarus after refusing KGB recruitment, arriving in America at age 21 with $380. Just three years into trying cases, he secured his first seven-figure verdict on a non-surgical pain management case where the defense offered only $90K on a $250K policy. How? Leveraging strategies developed by host Dan Ambrose for his TLU platform to prepare the witness and transport the jury back to the crash scene, The jury awarded $1.075 million. Since 2022, Alex has tried about 15 jury trials and recently earned recognition as a Texas Rising Star. He’s also the third most prolific TLU On Demand user; tune in to learn why he considers daily learning non-negotiable for trial success.
Train and Connect with the Titans
☑️ Alex Ivanov | LinkedIn
☑️ Angel Reyes & Associates | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | TikTok | YouTube
☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos
☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
2025 Programming
☑️ Case Story Bootcamp: (Dan Ambrose and Eric Oliver), Oct 28-Nov 1, Las Vegas, NV
☑️ TLU Performance Skills | Cabo Edition (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Dec. 15-22, Cabo San Lucas, MX
2026 Programming
☑️ Bootcamp & Ski (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Feb. 8-15, Lake Tahoe, CA
☑️ Depostions Are Trial (Sach Oliver and Dan Ambrose), March 3-7, Rogers, AR
☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA
Episode Snapshot
- Alex graduated top of his class from Belarusian State University with a degree in international law, competing in moot court competitions at Oxford and the International Court of Justice in The Hague
- After refusing KGB recruitment, Alex found himself facing three criminal charges (fraud, money laundering, tax evasion) that appeared overnight, with documents bearing his signature pleading guilty
- Alex and his wife, Kate, escaped Belarus on a midnight bus with $380, gambling that border guards wouldn't check passports; he turned 21 at JFK International Airport.
- Starting over in America, Alex and Kate sold vape liquids door-to-door, building the business to $20-30K monthly before being cut out by their Austin partner, leaving them homeless.
- Alex earned his LL.M. from Texas A&M in 2020, passed the bar during Covid, and started as a paralegal at Angel Reyes & Associates after other firms rejected him due to his accent
- Alex has tried approximately 15 jury trials since 2022, securing his first seven-figure verdict ($1.075 million) on a non-surgical pain management case with a $250K policy.
- Alex secured a $500K verdict for an undocumented client terrified to appear in court, helping her overcome fear to receive justice for her injuries on an $85K offer case
- The third most prolific user of TLU On Demand, Alex uses the platform to onboard new lawyers at his firm on topics from tracking to expert cross-examination.
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Two North Carolina attorneys who served their country and are now serving their clients discuss what they gained from the Trial Lawyer University’s Joe Fried Trucking Bootcamp. Will Meekins, with two years of experience handling catastrophic injury cases in western North Carolina, and Ryan McCollum with three civil trials under his belt in Raleigh, both graduated from West Point. They met years later at a North Carolina Plaintiffs' Lawyers Convention. In this wide-ranging discussion with host Dan Ambrose, they share insights from their military service, transition to trial law, and intensive training at the bootcamp. Tune in for their takeaways about witness preparation, cross-examination skills, and the importance of making the unconscious conscious in every aspect of trial performance.
Train and Connect with the Titans
☑️ Ryan McCollum | LinkedIn
☑️ Whitley Law Firm | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | X | YouTube
☑️ Will Meekins | LinkedIn
☑️ Teddy Meekins & Talbert | Facebook | LinkedIn | X | YouTube
☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos
☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
2025 Programming
☑️ Case Story Bootcamp: (Dan Ambrose and Eric Oliver), Oct 28-Nov 1, Las Vegas, NV
☑️ TLU Performance Skills | Cabo Edition (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Dec. 15-22, Cabo San Lucas, MX
2026 Programming
☑️ Bootcamp & Ski (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Feb. 8-15, Lake Tahoe, CA
☑️ Depostions Are Trial (Sach Oliver and Dan Ambrose), March 3-7, Rogers, AR
☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA
Episode Snapshot
- Both Will and Ryan graduated from West Point and served as infantry officers.
- The attorneys attended Joe Fried’s Trucking Bootcamp to elevate their practices: Will wanted Joe’s take on a case that he was preparing, and Ryan had just settled his second big trucking case and his firm was giving him more.
- The bootcamp emphasized micro-connection skills, including intentional eye contact, emotional state control, and deliberate hand movements to build rapport with jurors.
- Ryan discovered his intensive forehead wrinkles made him appear angry and combative, learning to project warmth instead of intensity during witness examination.
- Will learned to avoid treating all witnesses as adversaries, understanding that even defense experts need guidance rather than confrontation.
- Both attorneys emphasize the importance of understanding why a case matters to the jury, not just the attorney and client.
- The social aspects of the bootcamp created lasting professional relationships and referral opportunities among participants.
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In 1984, Eric Oliver was teaching persuasion skills to marketeers in computer firms. When he transitioned to trial consulting that year, he found a new audience. In two years, “lawyers took all my time…because nobody had ever taught persuasion, influence, and communication to attorneys at that time. They still don't.” In this wide-ranging discussion with host Dan Ambrose, Eric reveals how he accidentally discovered his calling. Now, he teaches lawyers how to manage juror perceptions, combat post-truth decision-making, and overcome impaired attention in modern courtrooms. Tune in for his insights about anchoring techniques, mirroring for rapport, and opening statements that can put you far ahead of your opponent.
Train and Connect with the Titans
☑️ Eric Oliver
☑️ MetaSystems Consulting | YouTube | LinkedIn
☑️ “Case Story Bootcamp,” Oct. 28 - Nov. 1. In Las Vegas
☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos
☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Episode Snapshot
- Eric entered trial consulting after teaching marketing to computer firms when a lawyer read his Yellow Pages ad for nonverbal communication; the lawyer asked for help facing his most feared opponent and did “remarkably well” after working with Eric.
- Eric discovered that most law school training is counterproductive to effective communication, requiring lawyers to unlearn academic approaches to connect with real people.
- Nearly 50% of jury pools now consist of "post-truth deciders" who assume the game is rigged, prefer deciding against defendants over for plaintiffs, and believe wrongdoing should be knowing rather than mere negligence.
- Modern jurors suffer from impaired attention in three ways: shorter attention spans, weaker concentration abilities, and fragmented focus that creates self-distraction even without phones.
- Eric pioneered a "frame of mind exercise" that uses anchoring techniques to help lawyers connect physical cues to confident mental states.
- Successful case storytelling requires consistency, using the same framing sequences to help jurors with short attention spans follow the narrative thread.
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