Civil Litigation Workshop: Advanced
Spring term, Block M
T 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Mr. Paul Collier
2 classroom credits LAW-32210A Spring
2, 3, or 4 required clinical credits LAW-32210C Fall or Spring
The Workshop is designed to develop more advanced civil litigation skills through real case examples and trial skills practice. In a small, interactive seminar setting, students will sharpen their written and oral advocacy skills, grapple with evidentiary issues, depose an expert witness, and brief and argue the admission of the deposed expert's opinion testimony, all with a focus on the strategic choices these skills require. Case patterns are taken from novel practice areas, including a domestic violence tort and a breach of contract case. In Workshop sessions, students will have the opportunity to analyze and critique arguments, strategy choices, and pleadings in the case materials as well as in their clinical cases. Guest expert witnesses and litigators will participate in several Workshop class meetings.
Students may do their clinical work in either the fall or spring term at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center or the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau (if an HLAB member). Students will be expected to draft their own pleadings, present their own arguments, and offer peer critique for the presentations and litigation strategies and tactics of their Workshop colleagues. Because the Workshop will address sophisticated evidentiary issues, and because students are expected to build upon their actual clinical case experiences and to perform motion and trial exercises as part of their coursework, the completion of Trial Advocacy Workshop and prior clinical experience is strongly recommended.
The workshop will be limited to 10 students. Evidence is a required pre-requisite.
Students who would like to enroll in this clinical course must do so through clinical registration. Please refer to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs website at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical for clinical course registration dates, drop/add deadlines, and other clinical registration information.