Law 793:  Mirza Trial Academy

This course is a one-week intensive, held in Chicago over Spring Break (March 13 – 17), that focuses on the development and advancement of core competencies necessary for the successful trial lawyer.  These competencies include critical motion practice, depositions, settlement mediation, electronic discovery, jury selection, and courtroom presentation skills.  The course emphasizes learning core advocacy skills through the performance of courtroom exercises, including a trial to be held following the conclusion of the course.  The ABA Model Rules of Professional Responsibility are integrated at all aspects of the course.  Courtroom exercises teach students to identify and ethically resolve professional responsibility issues confronting trial lawyers.  The course is taught by experienced trial lawyers and judges in the Chicago area who critique daily courtroom performance exercises and who judge the final trial.  As a week-long intensive experience, classes and performance exercises will be held daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (with a lunch break) over Spring Break.  The final trials will be held in Chicago the weekend of March 25th and will be followed by an Anderson Center dinner attended by students, faculty, and Mirza Academy alumni.  Registration is open to all 3Ls who have completed Evidence and Trial Advocacy/Trial Advocacy Workshop; registration in the Chicago Program is NOT required.  

 This course is eligible to satisfy the Professional Responsibility and Ethics course requirement for graduation.

Sequence and Prerequisites: Evidence and Trial Advocacy/Trial Advocacy Workshop (fall semester) are required for enrollment

Evaluation: This course will be evaluated through daily courtroom performance exercises and a final mock trial.  Students will receive a grade for the course.

Course Classification:  Experiential