Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Enrollment is limited to 12 students. The seminar does not fulfill the legal writing requirement. The course will be open to second- and third-year students. Evidence is a co-requisite or pre-requisite for the course. The course concludes with a final trial simulation exercise. The course grade will be based upon class participation, preparation and upon performance in the final trial simulation. Students who do not attend the first class without first notifying the instructor will not be eligible for registration in the course, or for admission into the course from the wait list.

During this course, each student will, step by step, conduct a trial. The organization of the course follows the actual conduct of a trial, from jury selection through opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations and summations. It also includes instruction on, and critique of, each of those skills. In addition, the class will cover the introduction of exhibits, impeachment, objections and examination of expert witnesses.

The course begins with a discussion of a publicized jury trial, and the lessons litigators can learn from the jurors' views of the lawyers conducting the trial. The class will then be divided up into groups. Over the course of the semester, each group will perform simulated trial exercises during each class.