The Trial Attorney's Guide to Evidence Admissibility

Veronica J. Finkelstein combines the best of practice and teaching, devoting herself to developing the next generation of top advocates. She is both an experienced litigator and a skilled educator with diverse scholarly interests. Finkelstein currently works as an assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Philadelphia and will transition to a full-time teaching role at the Wilmington University School of Law in August of 2023. She served as the civil division training officer and paralegal supervisor for the Civil Division before being selected as senior litigation counsel. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Finkelstein handles various civil affirmative and defensive matters and criminal child exploitation cases. She has tried numerous civil cases to defense verdicts, including tort, employment law, and medical malpractice. She has also successfully litigated cases on appeal. In addition to this defensive work, Finkelstein investigates and prosecutes affirmative fraud claims, including qui tam actions. In 2014 she was awarded the Executive Office of United States Attorneys Director’s Award for Superior Performance as a Civil Assistant United States Attorney. Before joining the DOJ, Finkelstein clerked for the Honorable Jane Cutler Greenspan on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. She previously worked as a construction litigator at Duane Morris, LLP and Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, PC. A gifted teacher who regularly works with both lawyers and law students, Finkelstein has taught at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center on ethics, appellate advocacy, legal writing, and trial practice. She frequently serves as a program director for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, where she teaches depositions, motion practice, and trial advocacy programs. She serves as adjunct faculty of law at Drexel Law, Emory Law, and Rutgers Law. She was awarded the Carl “Tobey” Oxholm III Outstanding Contribution to the Thomas R. Kline School of Law Community Award in 2021 and has been named Rutgers Law School Adjunct Professor of the Year every year from 2007 to the present. Finkelstein’s scholarship is as diverse as her litigation and teaching experience. Her scholarship has addressed various topics, from civil procedure to constitutional law. She is the co-author of the Professional Responsibility textbook “Ethical Lawyering: A Guide for the Well-Intentioned,” which contextualizes the rules of professional conduct in realistic litigation settings. Finkelstein graduated, with honors, from the Emory University School of Law. She was a highly competitive member of Emory Law’s moot court society and was selected for the Order of the Barristers.

Nicole Pettes is a podcast host known for her engaging interview style and ability to draw out the best in her guests. She has hosted a diverse range of podcasts and video interviews that explore a wide variety of topics. Currently, Nicole is a Video Podcast Host with Learn Formula, where she contributes to their professional education series. She also hosts the Anxious & Ambitious podcast, which explores personal growth and mental health, and co-hosts the Podcast Guesting For Profit, which helps entrepreneurs and podcasters succeed as podcast guests.