Join us for a lecture on the art and science of persuasion, including its application to opening statements. Dusty’s lecture will discuss key persuasion concepts including confirmation bias, psychological reactance, metaphorical reasoning, and the importance of established narrative structures. Dusty will also demonstrate portions of his opening statement in Ruvalcaba v. Santa Cruz City Schools. The Ruvalcaba case hinged on the complex interplay between workers’ compensation and disability discrimination laws, competing medical reports, and the relationships between a school district, its self-insurance through a two-tiered system of Joint Powers Authorities, and a third-party administrator named Keenan & Associates. Dusty will demonstrate how he simplified these complex concepts for the jury and obtained a $34.5M disability discrimination verdict against Keenan.