This program is eligible for 2 hours of CLE credit in 60-minute states. In 50-minute states, this program is eligible for 2.4 hours of CLE credit. Credit hours are estimated and are subject to each state’s approval and credit rounding rules.
Overview
Sharpen your trial skills and strengthen your courtroom confidence with this two-hour CLE on the essentials of handling evidence and making effective objections.
In Hour One, Robert J. Foster will provide a clear, practical roadmap through the rules of evidence and discovery. Learn how to identify, gather, and present the proof you need to build a persuasive case, while meeting your ethical obligations at every step. Foster will discuss common pitfalls—such as relying too heavily on client-supplied information—and offer tips for staying organized, including the value of keeping a copy of the Rules of Evidence within reach. He’ll also explain key hearsay caveats and exceptions that every trial lawyer should master.
In Hour Two, Peter D. Giglione will take a deeper dive into advanced advocacy tools. Drawing on decades of trying complex cases, mentoring other lawyers, and serving as Duquesne University’s Director and Professor of Trial Advocacy, and Pete will break down how to draft and argue motions in limine, make timely and persuasive objections, preserve issues for appeal, and confidently admit digital evidence such as text messages, social media posts, and emails.
Whether you’re preparing for your first trial or looking to polish your skills as a seasoned advocate, this program will give you the strategies, insight, and confidence to handle evidentiary challenges and objections with professionalism and impact.
Faculty
Peter D. Giglione, Esq.
Attorney Peter D. Giglione has 20 years of legal experience and an extensive winning record in the courtroom. Prior to joining Massa Butler Giglione & Dirlam, ‘Pete’ worked for a large, national law firm, where he tried multiple nursing home abuse and neglect cases and other types of lawsuits in numerous courts. Pete has won millions of Dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. While his practice has focused primarily on representing victims of nursing home abuse and neglect and their families, Pete also represents plaintiffs of all ages in other types of cases, including automobile collisions, premises liability, consumer protection, medical malpractice, vaccine injury, and products liability.
Starting in 2010 and continuing through 2017, Pete’s peers voted him as a “Rising Star” in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers rankings. In 2018, he was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer – an honor awarded to no more than 2.5 percent of all practicing attorneys in Pennsylvania. In 2013, he was named a “Top 40 under 40” trial lawyers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by The National Trial Lawyers organization. That same year he was inducted into the prestigious Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, an invitation-only group limited to 200 active members.
Pete is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. He has successfully argued appeals before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts. Pete frequently lectures at Legal Education seminars related to nursing home and medical malpractice cases, and he also speaks at healthcare ethics conferences. He has served as a faculty member of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Allegheny County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the University of Pittsburgh Consortium Ethics Program, and in 2012 for the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Court Judges.
Pete is currently an adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where he serves as Director of the Trial Advocacy Program, overseeing all Trial Advocacy courses and the law school’s Trial Moot Court Program. He also teaches the Legal Issues in Healthcare course to undergraduates, Masters and Doctorate degree candidates, and Trial Advocacy courses to second and third-year law students, at Duquesne University School of Law.
Robert J. Foster, Esq.
Robert J. Foster is a partner at Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP, where he represents clients in a wide range of complex litigation, including class actions, shareholder disputes, unfair competition, Lanham Act claims, insurance coverage and bad faith, professional liability, and personal injury matters. He also has extensive appellate experience and has served asamicus curiaefor leading organizations such as the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. In addition, Rob regularly advises companies on indemnification, licensing, trademark, and copyright issues.
Rob has also taught as an adjunct professor at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business and, from 2001 to 2018, at Temple University, where he taught Legal and Ethical Issues in Sports and Recreation. He has been certified by the NFL and NBA Players Associations as a player representative, negotiating marketing deals for athletes and companies, advising professional teams, facilities, and organizations on risk management, and providing counsel to writers, musicians, and athletes nationwide. He has also written and spoken extensively on liability issues in amateur and professional sports.
In addition to his litigation and teaching work, Rob serves as Judge Pro Tempore with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he acts as a settlement master. He frequently serves as an arbitrator, often as chairperson, and has been appointed Special Master at the request of the Court.
A frequent CLE presenter, Rob lectures on topics such as indemnification agreements, subrogation and liens, legal research and writing, technology, discovery, insurance disputes, and the Fair Share Act. He also moderates an annual Judicial Forum on litigation techniques, featuring judges from across the Philadelphia region.
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