Please be advised that registration for all Training Division Events is limited to persons who provide services pursuant to the Federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA). For more information please read our Training Events Registration Disclaimer. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation for DSO Training Division Programs will be requested unless otherwise noted. Program Credit hours will always be subject to each state's approval and credit rounding rules. Approved programs and credit hours will be made available at the conclusion of applicable programs.
NEW For CLE information and available resources pertaining to your state, please visit the CLE Information Center. Click here for CLE FAQs.
If you have any questions about registering, please emailus.
20 - 22
Fundamentals of Federal Criminal Defense, Part III – Virtual
Fundamentals is designed for those new to federal criminal defense practice and addresses topics that you will likely encounter in your practice. This is the third part of virtual Fundamentals of Federal Criminal Defense. Part one took place on February 17 through May 12, 2021 (available with fd.org credentials here). Part two took place on January 19 through February 2, 2022 (available with fd.org credentials here). This third part of virtual Fundamentals complements the courses from the last two years, focusing on immigration consequences, relevant conduct under the Guidelines for firearms and drug cases, defending firearms cases (updated), and an update on Bruen and Rehaif developments.
This virtual course will include four live presentations (which will be recorded) on the GoToWebinar platform. Instructions on how to join this virtual event will be emailed to you from noreply@goto.com after you register. We highly recommend you review the detailed instructions, with pictures, on how to join this virtual seminar, available at https://www.fd.org/fundamentals-federal-criminal-defense-part-iii-virtual. Registrants are not required to view every presentation, though they are encouraged to do so.
This program is open to everyone working with federal defender and CJA panel attorneys. Yes, that means both attorneys and non-attorneys, investigators, paralegals, legal assistants, and any defense professional who will find the program’s content valuable to their work.
If you have questions about the content of this virtual program, please contact George_Couture@ao.uscourts.gov.
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the seminar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees the week following the program.
- In an effort to minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only. The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
- For applicable states attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
- Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
Thank you for joining us on this journey in this third iteration of virtual Fundamentals.
27 - 29
Winning Strategies Seminar - Virtual
The Winning Strategies Seminar - Virtual brings together a dynamic group of attorneys and other legal professionals to speak on a wide variety of topics, all specifically designed to keep CJA practitioners and Defenders abreast of the most recent and important developments in federal criminal defense. The anticipated sessions will include such topics as Police Body Worn Cameras, 2023 Sentencing Guideline Amendments, Developments in Federal Search and Seizure Law, Challenging the Toxicology of Drug Cases Resulting in Death, Apprendi Arguments re: ACCA’s “occasion” clause post-Wooden, Supreme Court Update, Psychology of Trauma, and Ethics. This program will take place on June 27 and 29, 2023, between 12:00 to 5:00 PM EDT each day, with 15-minute breaks in between sessions.
This virtual seminar will include eight live presentations (which will be recorded) on the GoToWebinar platform. Instructions on how to join this virtual event will be emailed to you from noreply@goto.com after you register. Detailed instructions, with pictures, on how to join this virtual seminar are also available here. Registrants only have to register once to attend all of the sessions of this two-day training event. You are not required to view every presentation, although you are encouraged to do so.
This program is open to everyone working with federal defender and CJA panel attorneys. Yes, that means both attorneys and non-attorneys, investigators, paralegals, legal assistants, and any defense professional who will find the program's content valuable to their work.
If you have questions about the content of this virtual program, please contact George_Couture@ao.uscourts.gov.
CLE Information
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. This program may satisfy CLE requirements in ethics and technology. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the seminar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees the week following the program.
- In an effort to minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only. The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
- For applicable states attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
- Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
Thank you for joining us on this journey for our first Winning Strategies Seminar – Virtual.
13 - 15
Race in the Federal Criminal Court: Strategies in Pursuit of Justice
The history of the American criminal legal system is marked by racial inequity. Across time and space, numerous racialized groups – from the Indigenous Tribes of North America to the well-documented high rate of imprisonment among Black people to prioritizing the prosecution of Latinx people in the U.S. and along the southern border – have been a focus of attention for the nation’s courts.
The Race in the Federal Criminal Court: Strategies in Pursuit of Justice conference is an inclusive program designed to share with everyone working pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act about the many ways race impacts the administration of justice and to provide them with strategies and innovation to combat racial injustice in the criminal legal system.
Areas to be addressed include strategies on litigating race from the police encounter on the street and the Fourth Amendment, roadmap for successful Batson challenges, practical tips in defending noncitizens, and ways to decrease racial disparities in detention hearings, charging, pleas, and at sentencing. In addition, sessions devoted to teaching a trauma-informed approach to interviewing, counseling, and other aspects of defender work, exposing racial disparities in risk assessment tools, learning ways diverse teams can work cohesively and effectively, and several other sessions dealing with litigation, mitigation, and professional development will be presented in both plenary and breakout sessions. We will also hear and learn directly from those who have experienced the unnecessary cruelty of the law firsthand.
This program is open to everyone working with federal defender and CJA panel attorneys. Yes, that means both attorneys and non-attorneys, investigators, paralegals, legal assistants, and any defense professional who will find the program’s content valuable to their work.
If you have questions about the content of this workshop, please contact Akin Adepoju at Akin_Adepoju@ao.uscourts.gov (link sends e-mail).
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation for this program will be sought in all applicable jurisdictions. This program may satisfy CLE requirements in ethics, elimination of bias, inclusion and cultural competency, and professionalism.
13 - 15
Law & Technology Series: Electronic Courtroom Presentation (ECP) Workshop
The Law & Technology Series: Electronic Courtroom Presentation (ECP) Workshop provides CJA panel attorneys and federal defender organization staff with the legal, strategic, and technological considerations involved with presenting information in federal courtrooms during trials and hearings. This program uses a combination of plenary presentations and small group, hands-on instruction. In the smaller breakout groups, attendees will practice direct and cross-examination, opening statements and closing arguments, using PowerPoint and TrialDirector360 software which are well suited for electronically presenting information in the courtroom.
To best participate at this program, all attendees are required to supply their own laptop computer and are strongly encouraged to utilize their own case materials (hearing/trial, small/large). In order to be considered for admission, all applicants MUST complete and return a short skill set rubric (SSR) before an individual registration submission is finalized. NOTE: the presentation software programs used in this workshop are designed to work on Windows operating systems (as opposed to Mac). If accepted, you must bring a laptop running Windows, or a Mac laptop running a virtualized copy of Windows.
27 - 29
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop focuses on a vital area of federal practice that has evolved since the Supreme Court declared the federal sentencing guidelines were advisory and no longer mandatory. Since approximately 97% of federal criminal cases continue to the sentencing phase, participation in the Sentencing Advocacy Workshop should not be missed. The Sentencing Advocacy Workshop teaches a comprehensive approach to sentencing where participants are trained to develop persuasive, fact-based, sentencing theories, and are provided with the advocacy skills necessary to advance their theories both in writing and during sentencing hearings. Presentations and demonstrations at the workshop include client relations and interviewing for mitigation, fact busting, developing persuasive theories and themes, storytelling at sentencing, persuasive writing, and persuasive presentation. The workshop consists of plenary sessions and small group breakout sessions. In the small group sessions, participants will use pending cases of their own to bust the facts, develop theories and themes, practice storytelling, persuasively write part of their sentencing memorandums and discuss how best to conduct sentencing hearings. Please note that due to the workshop format of this program, participation in all of the sessions is mandatory.
Enrollment for this program is limited to 60 participants – priority will be given to those people who have not attended this workshop in the past. Limited financial assistance may be available to non-federal defender registrants for travel expenses.
CLE & CIN
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the seminar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within two weeks following the program.
* In an effort to minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only. The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
* For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
* Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
For those attending in person from FPDOs, the Conference Identification Number (CIN) for this seminar is CONF230038.
17 - 19
Multi-Track Federal Criminal Defense Seminar - Hybrid
The Multi-Track Federal Criminal Defense Seminar will be offered as a hybrid program (in person and virtually). The seminar offers in-depth instruction in a variety of substantive areas of federal criminal defense practice. The seminar consists of related sessions, or tracks, which are grouped together allowing attorneys to select areas of practice which will best meet their training needs. There are tracks designed for attorneys at all levels of experience. In addition to the tracks, the seminar includes an additional eight substantive plenary lectures which cover a wide variety of important areas of federal criminal practice. The specific track presentations for the August 2023 Minneapolis seminar are listed in the agenda.
This year’s seminar will offer five tracks: (1) Forensics: A Primer on Science, Discovery, and Litigation; (2) Pretrial: Setting the Court for a Winning Case; (3) Litigation: Daubert, Sell, and Other Trial Strategies; (4) Sentencing: Guidelines and Beyond; and (5) Appeals, Supreme Court Practice, and Post-Conviction. If you attend the seminar in person, you will have access to all the plenary and breakout sessions. If you attend the seminar virtually, you will be able to view all the plenary lectures and all Forensics track presentations only. Enrollment for in-person attendance at this seminar is limited to 175 attendees. Enrollment for virtual attendance is limited to 500 attendees. You will have the option to select in-person or virtual during the registration process.
CLE & CIN
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the seminar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within two weeks following the program.
• In an effort to minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only. The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
• For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
• Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
For those attending in person from FPDOs, the Conference Identification Number (CIN) for this seminar is CONF2300050.
20 - 25
CJA Trial Skills Academy
The skills-based Academy, in its 14th year, has been a tremendous success. TSA focuses on (1) the use of a trial advocacy process to facilitate the development of a persuasive, fact-based theory and supporting themes and (2) honing the advocacy skills necessary to persuasively advance that theory and those themes throughout trial. Very experienced and skilled faculty lead this program through a series of plenary sessions and workshops. Elements of effective litigation and trial advocacy skills are presented in the plenaries. Participants then engage in hands-on practice of those skills using their very own cases and receive feedback in small group workshops.
Unique to this program, DSOTD hires actors to participate and role play in various small group sessions, giving the program a dynamic element. All participants are invited to bring their own cases and have the unique opportunity to dive deeply into their case and develop a litigation strategy with the assistance of fellow small group members and experienced faculty. On top of learning and building skills, consider it a rare opportunity for an intensive, 6-day brainstorm session.
Here is some TSA participant feedback that we have received:
- This program was amazing.
- The court granted my motion to suppress. This is the case that I brought to the seminar that we all discussed [at TSA]. I could tell you that many of the things I learned and that you guys helped me with were used in the motion to suppress. I thank you from the bottom of my heart but more importantly my client thanks you.
- My teachers were amazing. They focused on presentation tips (from posture to cadence) to substantive tips. They even strategized. All teachers came at each session from a different perspective and worked well together to teach the small groups how to be a better trial attorney. I really appreciate their dedication, time, and abilities.
- This program made me cry and feel proud to be a lawyer.
TSA is designed for, and attendance is limited to Criminal Justice Act (CJA) practitioners, both panel attorneys and lawyers from community and federal defender offices. There is no tuition, and materials will be provided to participants free of charge. Participants are expected to stay for the entire program.