Will Meekins and Ryan McCollum - What We Got Out of the Joe Fried TLU Trucking Bootcamp: Practice, Practice, Practice

Two North Carolina attorneys who served their country and are now serving their clients discuss what they gained from the Trial Lawyer University’s Joe Fried Trucking Bootcamp. Will Meekins, with two years of experience handling catastrophic injury cases in western North Carolina, and Ryan McCollum with three civil trials under his belt in Raleigh, both graduated from West Point. They met years later at a North Carolina Plaintiffs' Lawyers Convention. In this wide-ranging discussion with host Dan Ambrose, they share insights from their military service, transition to trial law, and intensive training at the bootcamp. Tune in for their takeaways about witness preparation, cross-examination skills, and the importance of making the unconscious conscious in every aspect of trial performance.

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2025 Programming

☑️ Case Story Bootcamp: (Dan Ambrose and Eric Oliver), Oct 28-Nov 1, Las Vegas, NV

☑️ TLU Performance Skills | Cabo Edition (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Dec. 15-22, Cabo San Lucas, MX

2026 Programming

☑️ Bootcamp & Ski (Dan Ambrose and Giorgio Panagos), Feb. 8-15, Lake Tahoe, CA

☑️ Depostions Are Trial (Sach Oliver and Dan Ambrose), March 3-7, Rogers, AR

☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA

Episode Snapshot

• Both Will and Ryan graduated from West Point and served as infantry officers.
• The attorneys attended Joe Fried’s Trucking Bootcamp to elevate their practices: Will wanted Joe’s take on a case that he was preparing, and Ryan had just settled his second big trucking case and his firm was giving him more.
• The bootcamp emphasized micro-connection skills, including intentional eye contact, emotional state control, and deliberate hand movements to build rapport with jurors.
• Ryan discovered his intensive forehead wrinkles made him appear angry and combative, learning to project warmth instead of intensity during witness examination.
• Will learned to avoid treating all witnesses as adversaries, understanding that even defense experts need guidance rather than confrontation.
• Both attorneys emphasize the importance of understanding why a case matters to the jury, not just the attorney and client.
• The social aspects of the bootcamp created lasting professional relationships and referral opportunities among participants.

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