The Tyson & Mendes Trial Academy is part of the firm’s broader strategic focus on being the most innovative, client-centered insurance defense firm in the nation.
San Diego, CA — Tyson & Mendes, LLP announced the completion of its 2025 Trial Academy program, an intensive, eight-week program designed to deepen litigation expertise and elevate courtroom readiness for attorneys at all stages of their careers.
The program combines lectures, faculty-led demonstrations, small group workshops, and a 150-person mock trial, giving participants hands-on training rooted in real-world litigation practice. The program is a cornerstone of Tyson & Mendes’ unwavering commitment to the professional development of its attorneys and its mission to be the best insurance defense firm in the country.
The 2025 Tyson & Mendes Trial Academy graduates are: Partners David Heemann and Gordon Klug; Senior Counsel Aika Nelson, April Rosenbaum, BeJae Roberts, Bryan Ferrara, Julie Noonan, David Anderson, Keith Bostwick, Leslie Harrach, Marc Wisehart, Saryah Sober, and Thera Cooper; and Associates Adrian Alba, Amaia Sanz de Acedo, Anthony Puzo, Austin Lewis, Gabriela Alba, Grant Welbourn, Hailey Standridge, Julie Noonan, Sam Manning, and Sarah Shavers.
The program was made possible through the expertise and mentorship of Tyson & Mendes’ senior trial faculty, who led sessions on critical components of trial practice, including Partners Allison Lawrence, Ashley Paige Fetyko, Edward Leonard, Jim Sell, Kristi Blackwell, Mina Miserlis, and Robert Tyson, in partnership with University of San Diego Law School Professor Linda Lane and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
In addition to its slate of graduates, Tyson & Mendes recognized several attorneys for their demonstrated trial acumen throughout the program. The 2025 Trial Academy award winners included:
- Best Voir Dire: Keith Bostwick
- Best Opening Statement: Anthony Puzo
- Best Direct Exam of a Lay Witness: Hailey Standridge
- Best Cross Exam of a Lay Witness: April Rosenbaum
- Best Direct Exam of an Expert: Adrian Alba & Thera Cooper
- Best Cross Exam of an Expert: Julie Noonan
- Best Closing Argument: David Anderson
- Best Witness Performance: Sara Stringfield
- Best Use of Tyson & Mendes Method: Amaia Sanz de Acedo
Additional award winners included Sam Manning, Gabriela Alba, Bryan Ferrara, and Leslie Harrach.
“Our Trial Academy program reflects our belief that the best defense lawyers are trained deliberately and collaboratively,” said Founding Partner Robert Tyson. “Our faculty poured their time and experience into cultivating our attorneys’ trial skills, and the results speak for themselves. This class is leaving the program better prepared to serve our clients with the excellence they have come to expect—and better prepared to stop Nuclear Verdicts®.”
The Tyson & Mendes Trial Academy is part of the firm’s broader strategic focus on being the most innovative, client-centered insurance defense firm in the nation—investing more in training and development than any other defense firm in the industry.
For more information about Tyson & Mendes’ attorney development programs and career opportunities, visit www.tysonmendes.com.
About Tyson & Mendes LLP
Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States. Tyson & Mendes is known for its expertise in defending corporations, insurance companies, and their clients against Nuclear Verdicts®.
Serving 22 states nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S. and is proud to offer one of the fastest and clearest paths to partnership for its attorneys of any mid-sized law firm in the U.S. The firm is honored to be recognized as a 2024 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers, named a 2024 Best Company to Work For: Law Firms edition by U.S. News & World Report, awarded the 2023 Liberty Mutual Insurance External Law Firm Partner of the Year Award, awarded the No. 1 “Ceiling Smasher” in Law360’s 2022 Glass Ceiling Report for female equity partnership, and shortlisted for Financial Times’ 2022 Innovative Lawyers North America Award.
For more information, visit www.tysonmendes.com.
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