TLC Podcast Episode 120: Kenny Adair on Discovering the Essence of the Story

“Lawyers get bogged down in minutiae and facts. The facts are important. The facts are the latticework upon which you hang the flesh of your case, and the flesh of your case is going to be the principles, the values, the emotion, the feelings, the betrayal; those types of things are what make a case relatable to a jury.”

This week, Kenny Adair, former district judge and 2007 graduate of the Trial Lawyers College, attributes his success to TLC. When he left the program, he felt better equipped to discover and understand his clients’ stories and tell them in a way that the jury would embrace. Through the use of reenactments, among other methods, he can discover the backstory and connect personally and emotionally to each case.

Adair tells the essential story during voir dire, during the opening statement, when questioning the clients and witnesses, and during the closing argument. He identifies the hero or would-be hero and the villain, the liable party. He shows the villain’s betrayal and is ready to capitalize on the defense counsel’s trial behavior that compounds the original harm to the client.

Important Links

Registration is now open for our winter and spring 2022 programs! Take a look at our current course list and get ready for another amazing year of connection, education, and empowerment with TLC.

• Opening Statement – in partnership with North Carolina Central University School of Law, TLC’s first-ever program with an HBCU Law School • January 21-23, 2022 at Durham Hotel 21c in Durham, NC
• Final Argument • January 21-23, 2022 at Mo Ranch, Texas
• Voir Dire – in partnership with Thomas Kline School of Law of Drexel University • February 18-20, 2022 at the Canopy Hotel in Philadelphia
• Cross-Examination • February 18-20, 2022 at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood, AK

NEW PROGRAM: The Courage to Ask: The Psychodrama of Money and Freedom in the Courtroom • March 25-April 1, 2022 at Sleeping Lady Resort in Leavenworth, Washington.

Episode Guest, Kenny Adair

Kenneth “Kenny” Adair’s years of experience in and out of the courtroom provide a unique perspective on trial strategy. His trial work, notably second-chairing murder cases at jury trial, including death penalty cases and other felony and civil cases, provides him with the perspective needed for most legal matters.

Kenny’s legal career began at the Oklahoma College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate. Soon after, he began representing clients as a public defender and eventually as a private practice criminal and civil trial lawyer. He recently ended a nine-year career serving as a district judge for the State of Oklahoma to return to the role of a trial lawyer, continuing the commitment to justice sparked by his TLC experience.