Persuasion in Practice: Presence and Credibility in Negotiations and Depositions

Michael P. Dickman, Partner | Bowditch & Dewey

Michael P. Dickman is a business litigator and trial lawyer who represents individuals and companies in complex civil disputes. His practice focuses on commercial, construction, and real estate litigation, with experience representing owners, developers, contractors, and other businesses.

• Education & Credentials

J.D., Northeastern University School of Law. B.A., cum laude, Boston College. Admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

• Recognition & Leadership

Recognized on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars list (2022–2025) and named to Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (2025). He was selected for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Boston Future Leaders Class of 2026. Through his bar leadership, he regularly writes, speaks, and helps develop programming on issues affecting the legal profession, including lawyer well-being, professional development, and new developments in the law.

• Professional Involvement

Mike is active in bar leadership through the Massachusetts Bar Association and Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association, including as past leader of both organizations’ young lawyer divisions. He chairs the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division (Chair, 2025–present; Board of Directors since 2022) and serves on the association’s Lawyer Well-Being Committee (2024–present) and Judicial Administration Section Council (2025–present). He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers Association (2026–present) and is a Foundation Fellow of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation (2022–present).

• Experience

Mike has extensive experience prosecuting and defending against claims for violations of Chapter 93A. He also represents clients in insurance coverage, personal injury, and other civil litigation matters. Handling cases from commencement through trial, Mike focuses on delivering strategic and client-centered results. His work includes early risk assessment and counseling, pre-suit investigation, and comprehensive litigation management – covering written discovery, depositions, motion practice, mediation, and trial.

Mike represents clients in state and federal court, as well as before administrative agencies.

Guy O. Kornblum, Principal | Guy O. Kornblum, A Civil Litigation Law Firm

Guy O. Kornblum is the principal in Guy O. Kornblum, A Civil Litigation Law Firm (formerly Guy O. Kornblum, A Professional Law Corporation), with its principal office in Northern California in Alamo, California.

• Education & Credentials

He is a graduate of UC Law San Francisco (JD) (formerly The Hastings College of the Law, University of California), and Indiana University (AB), and did postgraduate work at NYU. Mr. Kornblum is certified in Civil Trial Law and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the prestigious National Board of Trial Advocacy.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is also a Life Member of the Multi-Million Dollar and Million-Dollar Advocate’s Forum for those attorneys who have achieved multi-million-dollar awards or settlements for their clients, and a Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary. He is listed in the Who’s Who Directory and has been selected as a Super Lawyer each year since 2006.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Kornblum is the author of Negotiating and Settling Tort Cases: Reaching the Settlement, published by the Thomson Reuters Publishing Company, 5th ed, 2025. He also co-authored the Rutter Group publication, California Practice Guide: Bad Faith, which is now included in the Rutter Group manual on insurance law. He also has over 150 published articles and regularly does a column on “Civil Litigation – From Start to Finish,” for the FORUM, the publication of the Consumer Attorneys of California. Mr. Kornblum has been lecturing on continuing legal education programs for over 40 years on a local, state and national level. He has taught programs for numerous providers and regularly lectures for the Thomas Reuters CLE program (www.celesq.com), his book publisher, where recently completed teaching a 10 session course on Civil Litigation; the San Francisco Bar Association; the National Academy for Continuing Legal Education; and other CLE providers. He has also taught at local law schools, including UC Law San Francisco, where he graduated and once served as Assistant Dean.

• Experience

He has specialized as a trial and appellate lawyer for over 50 years. He has specialized in a wide range of civil litigation, including serious injury and wrongful death, financial and physical elder abuse, and all aspects of insurance including “bad faith” claims. Mr. Kornblum himself has handled over 4000 litigated matters to a conclusion and has several million dollar plus cases to his credit. He has represented hundreds of clients, small businesses, individuals, and large Fortune 500 corporations over his years of practice. He is highly regarded for his courtroom and appellate skills, and his representation of his clients in mediations, where he has a strong track record of successful settlements. Mr. Kornblum has qualified in both state and federal court as an expert witness on insurance claim handling, settlement value, negotiations and case value, and on the standard of care applicable to lawyers in civil litigation.

SESSION 1 – Persuasion and Presence at the Negotiation and Mediation Table | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session distills how an experienced litigator gets desired results for the client without trial. Treating negotiation and mediation as core litigation management, it moves from the main points to keep in mind — including candor, communication, and confidentiality at the table — to identifying the openers and demand-letter moments that signal a settlement opportunity, improving your position at mediation, and ten principles for reaching timely settlements. It closes with the top reasons cases fail to settle, so attendees can avoid the traps that keep resolvable disputes from closing.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – How to Take and Defend Depositions Confidently and Ethically | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

Taking and Defending Depositions Confidently and Ethically will provide practical guidance for litigators seeking to make depositions more focused, effective, and professional. The program will cover the full deposition lifecycle, including preparing the witness, developing a flexible outline, selecting and organizing exhibits, and using the rules and case records to identify the testimony that matters most. Attention will be given to ethical witness preparation, including the line between permissible preparation and improper coaching addressed in ABA Formal Opinion 508.

The session will also address the deposition itself, including how to use an outline without being trapped by it, how to secure key admissions, how to defend a witness through proper objections and instructions, and how to handle difficult moments on the record. Attendees will leave with practical takeaways on preserving rights, suspending or reserving the right to resume a deposition, and navigating unique issues presented by Rule 30(b)(6) depositions. The goal is to help lawyers approach depositions with greater confidence, preparation, and ethical clarity.