Fall 2015 Class Manual

This course is designed to teach the trial skills I have learned from over four decades of working in courtrooms. These rules are not step-by-step instructions, but basic building blocks which can be adapted to any set of trial problems. There is no textbook for this course. I have read hundreds of trial advocacy books, attended numerous seminars and listened to tapes, but didn’t find what I was searching for. So I designed this course to teach the trial skills. There is no textbook or casebook which discloses my ideas; they are contained only in this manual, my legal blog and our class discussions. What you get out of this course depends on your participation, motivation and ability. I make this promise, I will go as far and as deep as you are willing to go. I can tell right away who is invested in the process. This doesn’t require any a priori talent or some trial gene. These are skills that can be mastered by any of you. I am not into grading, grade point averages, etc. I am interested only in teaching the skills of communication, persuasion and strategy. This is a joint venture and your part of this contract is to fully engage in the process. Ask questions. Your questions are essential to start the classroom debate. Black's Law #1: Make it personal. The conventional wisdom is to never make it personal. If you want to win, make it personal. Work it as hard as you can, until exhausted, and then go further. Use anger to motivate yourself. It gives you an edge