Storytelling Mastery for Lawyers: Crafting Narratives That Persuade

Barbara A. Martinez | Holland & Knight

Barbara A. Martinez is an experienced trial attorney in Holland & Knight’s Miami office and a member of the firm’s White-Collar Defense and Investigations Team as well as the Global Compliance and Investigations Team. Ms. Martinez focuses her practice on white collar defense, internal corporate investigations, anti-human trafficking and supply chain management, and corporate compliance. Chambers USA 2025 recognized Ms. Martinez for her defense work in white-collar crime and government investigations.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Martinez was a distinguished federal prosecutor. She served more than 22 years at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), both at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and at the Criminal Fraud Section in Washington, D.C. She has prosecuted economic crime cases, including healthcare fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. She also prosecuted cases and lead multidisciplinary teams in matters involving human trafficking, immigration violations, extortion, cybercrimes, crimes against children and other transnational crimes. Ms. Martinez tried numerous complex federal jury trials as lead counsel in the Southern District of Florida and many bench trials in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was chief of the Special Prosecutions Section and served in various other leadership roles at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, including as the human trafficking coordinator for the Southern District of Florida. She regularly led multidisciplinary teams handling complex investigations in the U.S. and overseas.

Daniel I. Small | Holland & Knight

Dan Small is a partner in Holland & Knight’s Miami and Boston offices. He practices in the area of litigation, focusing on witness preparation, dispute strategies, government and internal investigations, white-collar criminal law and complex civil litigation. He has extensive investigation, jury trial and other litigation experience. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Small was a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, during which time he tried RICO, corruption, financial and regulatory cases. Mr. Small received various awards and commendations for his work. He also was general counsel for a publicly traded healthcare management firm, where he oversaw in-house legal and risk management staff, outside counsel, litigation, compliance, and facility, entity and physician contracting.

Since 2013, Mr. Small has worked pro bono with lawyers and judges in Uzbekistan on reforming their judicial system and Rule of Law issues. This has included conducting workshops there on trial advocacy, speaking at public events and lecturing at Tashkent State University of Law. He has also spoken on Rule of Law issues with groups from Turkey and Russia.

Mr. Small has written several books on litigation for the American Bar Association, including Preparing Witnesses, Going To Trial and Lessons Learned from a Life on Trial, that are used in CLE programs he gives throughout the country. He was a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a frequent television, radio and newspaper commentator, as well as the host of Holland & Knight’s Powerful Witness Prep Podcast Series and The Trial Lawyer’s Handbook Podcast Series.

Mr. Small has represented witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of internal and external investigations, administrative proceedings, and civil and criminal litigation. These include issues relating to government regulation, healthcare entities, education institutions, financial institutions and others.

I. Mastering storytelling | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. Transforming headlines into compelling storylines | 1:20pm –1:40pm

III. Developing your story | 1:40pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

IV. Chronology and storytelling | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

V. Integrating storytelling at each phase of trial | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

VI. Challenges for lawyers | 2:50pm – 3:10pm