I attended in Los Angeles a three-day (June 6 – 8) seminar presented by the Defender Services Office, Training Division (www.fd.org).  It was a seminar on Winning Strategies and Fundamentals of Federal Criminal Defense.  The topics included Writing Effective Sentencing Memoranda, the Essential Role of Investigation in CJA Cases, Pretrial Motions, and Obtaining and Effectively Using Cellebrite Data at Trial.  I met dozens of awesome federal defense attorneys from all over the United States, including New York, Alabama, Alaska, California, and Hawai‘i.

This was the first in-person seminar that I attend since COVID. First, I have to say that attend in-person a multi-day seminar is a fantastic experience, especially a seminar at the high caliber as put together by the Defender Service Office, Training Division. There some many benefits of having the opportunity to attend this type of seminar in person. First, it is just easier to get immersed in the material and training when you are in person. Second, it’s so engaging to meet people and engage in camaraderie with persons doing the same type of work and service across the country. Third, it shows how important it is to get out of the office and focus solely on career/skill development. Fourth, these seminars really inspire and motivate me to get to the next level.

And, on another note, it was fun to be back in Los Angeles. I spent five years in L.A. completing my bachelors at Pepperdine and masters at USC. I never spent much time in downtown LA back in my college days. I was able to explore some of it and hit up some Mexican food places and Water Grill.