The Importance of Civility in the Courtroom

Join the panel discussion on the importance of civility in the courtroom. Attorney Jill Mariani hosts a roundtable of these influential members in law:

• The Honorable James Holderman: The Chief Judge of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois joined the court in 1985 after he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He became Chief Judge in 2006. Holderman is also chair of the ABA’s Commission on the American Jury Project, which focuses on the implementation of the ABA Principles on Juries and Jury Trials into the courtroom and reaching out to the public about the importance of jury service and jury reform.

• Dick A. Semerdjian: Attorney Semerdjian is chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS). TIPS is the knowledge and leadership hub for trial practice and issues of justice that involve tort insurance and law.

• MaryGrace Schaeffer: As vice president of DecisonQuest, Schaeffer has been a trial consultant for more than 22 years. Her expertise includes strategy and theme development, mock trials, witness evaluation and preparation, shadow juries, post-trial interviews and more.

Listen to their thoughts on why legal professionals need to be cognizant of civility in the courtroom, the strategies they use to implement it, changes they’d like to see in the legal world regarding civility, and more.