Gus Brown Teaches Attorneys Nationwide via ZOOM

Technology allows national education without travel expenses

With many "normal" education situations drastically changing due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns, Augustus F. "Gus" Brown, a principal in the law firm of Brown, Brown & Young, P.A., carries on instruction of other attorneys all around the country, now with a significant change — Brown teaches "remotely," using Zoom video conferencing.

For example, on May 7, 2020, Brown led a national instruction on witness preparation for depositions and trial testimony; on April 13-14, 2020, Brown used on-line focus groups to instruct trial lawyers on how to present and facilitate their cases so as to secure a more-favorable jury.

All sessions were "zoomed" directly from Brown's office in Bel Air, Maryland, under the auspices of Keenan Trial Institute of Atlanta, of which Brown is a faculty member.

"Teaching via remote video is very interesting," says Brown. "It's slower than doing it live, and the interaction can be a little stilted when doing role-playing, but it has advantages, too — you don't have the expenses of travel or staying in a hotel!"

Brown's "students" — all practicing attorneys in the field — logged into the video sessions from all over the country; participating attorneys were from Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia and Pennsylvania, among others. "Focus group participants are recruited via on-line sites and are selected based on demographics, because diversity is important," Brown adds.

In Brown's Focus Group on Jury Selection, he instructed trial lawyers on how to present and facilitate their cases so as to secure a more-favorable jury. "The process is very secure," Brown relates. "Interested attorneys enter the Zoom 'room,' where they first are given a brief presentation by other attorneys, playing the roles of witnesses and potential jurors. We then discuss their reactions, and critique both the presentation and the dynamics." According to Brown, there were an average of seventeen in each "room."

Brown expects that all participating attorneys find these sessions valuable. "It is eye-opening to see a different point of view than you might expect, as attorneys see the reactions of clients or witnesses."

In order to keep everything under control, lawyers who were not participating in the case being facilitated muted their microphones and web cameras, but were still able to hear and observe everything that was going on, so as to learn from others' mistakes.

Augustus F. "Gus" Brown practices in Federal and State Courts in the fields of Personal Injury, Auto Injury, Defective Products, Highway Construction Crashes and Workers' Compensation Claims. He also defends clients in criminal cases both in State and in Federal Courts. Augustus Brown is certified by the Courts to conduct mediation of Personal Injury Claims, Medical Malpractice Claims and Litigation Claims, and serves as a privately chosen arbitrator and mediator in these types of cases.

Mr. Brown frequently facilitates jury focus groups for other trial attorneys on medical malpractice, negligence and auto liability case issues. He teaches other attorneys trial practice techniques, how to negotiate insurance settlements, and other relevant parts of the Personal Injury legal area. He trains other attorneys in jury selection, witness preparation and crafting legal arguments — topics in which he is an acknowledged expert.

In recognition of his expertise and commitment, Brown was named the Keenan Trial Institute 2019 Faculty Member of the Year.

The law firm of Brown, Brown & Young, P.A., founded in 1901, has been in practice longer than any other law firm in Harford or Cecil County, Maryland. The firm is ranked by the Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory as "A/V" — its highest rating: the "A" signifies the highest level of legal ability, and the "V" denotes very high adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence. Brown, Brown & Young is also included in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, which lists only those distinguished practices which "have been designated as outstanding in their field."