2025 Trial Skills Institute The Psychology of Trials
Details

This program is presented by the CBA in partnership with COAJ (Central Ohio Association for Justice)

This program will feature a live jury so that practitioners can eavesdrop on jury deliberations to get real life insight into the arguments that make the most impact on jury decisions.  There will also be a jury debrief lead by an experienced jury consultant where practitioners can ask jury members specific questions related to the pieces of evidence or argument strategies that made a difference in their verdict.

AGENDA

Case: Toxic Tort Mold Claim

9:00 – 10:30      Setting Out the Case 

  • Plaintiff case summary 

    • Attorney argument 

    • Key witnesses

    • Documents

  • Defense case summary 

    • Attorney argument

    • Key witnesses

    • Documents

  • Plaintiff rebuttal 

  • Jury instructions                                                                        

10:30-10:45      Break

10:45-12:15      Deliberation and Debrief 

  • Jury deliberation 

    • Commentary based on jury discussion

    • Dissection of jury thought process/psychology of deliberation

  • Jury is dismissed

  • Debrief of Deliberation: Why opening statement, and jury instructions matter                                       

                  

                                                 

PRESENTER BIOS

Jedidiah Bressman, Esq., Bressman Law 

Jedidiah’s primary focus is personal injury law.  Before Bressman Law, he worked for the Honorable Judge Frederick D. Nelson on the 10th District Court of Appeals of Ohio as a Judicial Staff Attorney.  He also previously worked in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General in the Health and Human Services division. While there, Jedidiah represented the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Department of Medicaid.  He received his J.D. from The Ohio State University Mortiz College of Law and also holds a B.A. in Communication from Indiana Institute of Technology. 

Jedidiah is very active in the community including serving as Head Wrestling Coach – Olentangy Fire (An all girl’s wrestling team encompassing Olentangy Orange Middle, Olentangy Liberty Middle, Olentangy Hyatts Middle, Berkshire Middle, and Shanahan middle.) and is currently a member of the Genoa Township Police Advisory Committee.

Matthew Schrader, Esq.,  Reminger Co. L.P.A.

Matthew is a shareholder in Reminger Co., L.P.A.'s Columbus office, and also serves as the firm's Co-Chair of General Casualty/Excess and Surplus Lines Practice Group. He has litigated and tried cases involving professional liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, directors and officers liability, wrongful death, products liability and copyright infringement.  Matthew has tried cases in both state and federal courts throughout Ohio. He has also argued and briefed appeals in Ohio’s appellate courts and the Fourth and Sixth Circuits.

For nearly 10 years, Matthew served as the Coach of and Advisor to the Mock Trial Team of the Capital University School of Law, where he also served as Adjunct Professor teaching second and third year law students trial advocacy and evidence. Matthew has served as General Counsel to one of Central Ohio's largest non-profit organizations and outpatient drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility. He has spoken to audiences throughout the country on issues dealing with trial practice, medical negligence, UM/UIM claims, and employment issues.

Matthew earned his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2001 and his B.A. from Xavier University in 1998.

Jennifer Cuculich, IMS Legal Strategies

Senior Jury Consultant Jennifer Cuculich, JD brings a strong foundation in law and

education to her role with IMS Consulting & Expert Services. She skillfully supports trial

teams involved in high-stakes and complex civil and criminal matters and helps clients

advance their cases with robust research, data-driven strategies, and persuasive

messaging.

Having previously worked as a litigator at several large national firms and a trial consultant

at a litigation research company, Jennifer’s diverse case experience includes such fields as

antitrust, product liability, insurance, white-collar defense, criminal tax defense, personal

injury, toxic tort, first amendment rights, and sports law, including broadcasting and

sponsorship contract disputes. She also has nearly a decade of experience in the education

industry—specifically related to instruction, coaching, and curriculum development—which

gives her a deep and practical understanding of how and why people learn.

Combining this educational background with her training as a trial attorney allows Jennifer

to proficiently translate complex concepts and assist litigators in “teaching” the jury through

storytelling, graphics, and themes.

Jennifer holds a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, a

Master of Education degree from National Louis University, and a bachelor’s degree in

psychology and economics from Boston College. She is proficient in Italian and Spanish

and lived for several years in Paraguay, a nation she still supports as a board member for

the non-profit organization Superkids Foundation. Jennifer is passionate about using her

skills to help others and collaborated on pro bono asylum cases as an attorney.



 

3.0 CLE Credit Hours


Summary
Availability:
On-Demand
Expires on Dec 31, 2026
Credit Offered:
3 General CLE Credits
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