Interested in honing your trial skills? Here’s your chance to work with practicing attorneys (including interscholastic team coaches) in small group sessions in a focused, 4-part introduction to effectively presenting and attacking witness testimony.

Open to all second- and third-year law students, the Fall Litigation Institute is a hands-on, crash course in trial skills – from the basics of laying a foundation to advanced witness examination techniques. Students of all experience levels…from true beginners to interscholastic mock trial competitors…are encouraged to attend as this program will offer an excellent opportunity to learn new skills or hone existing ones. Students will be able to work directly with UT Law’s interscholastic mock trial coaches and instructors and will learn everything they need to know to successfully compete in a mock trial competition. Even students not interested in competing, but currently enrolled in advocacy courses, will find this program a useful complement to their coursework.

Students interested in participating in any interscholastic mock trial competition must attend all four sessions of the 2009 Fall Litigation Institute. This includes students who partipated in 2008-2009 interscholastic mock trial competitions and students who attended the 2008 FLI. There are no attendance requirements for any other students participating in the Fall Litigation Institute, including those interested in competing in intramural mock trial competitions.

To sign up for the 2009 Fall Litigation Institute, complete a Student Information Form and e-mail it to Cheryl Brandt or drop it off in CCJ 3.338. The deadline to sign up and to turn in forms is noon on Tuesday, September 8th.

September 11th: Foundations -- The importance of getting it right and getting it in the record

September 19th: Impeachment -- Credibility in the courtroom

September 25th: Demonstrative Evidence -- Seeing is believing

October 2nd: Making and Overcoming Objections -- Winning over the judge and jury with legal argument

October 9th: Make-up Day -- Sessions 1-4 repeated

Lunch will be provided from 12:00-12:30 in room TNH 2.140; Lecture 12:30-1:00 in room TNH 2.140; Break-out sessions 1:00-2:30