Trial Advocacy Workshop
Okay folks – we’ve made it. On Tuesday, I begin the class that everyone imagines when they think of “law school.” The course evoked by the courtroom scenes in A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny, and Gideon’s Trumpet (another shameless plug to watch those if you haven’t already). The class that may just be the highlight of my law school experience.
On Tuesday, I learn How to Lawyer.
T.A.W.
The Trial Advocacy Workshop is one of the most highly coveted courses at HLS. It’s an intensive study in courtroom lawyering, and involves class for seven hours a day over a three-week period. TAW takes a lot of preparation, a decent amount of studying, and a ton of “hands on” work in class. But it’ll be worth it; by the end of January, I should have a decent grasp on how to “paint the picture” of my case to a jury.
Once upon a time, trial lawyering was a “sink-or-swim” experience. Prosecutors would hand their young minions some low-threat cases and literally say “good luck.” The idea was that trial lawyers are born, not made, and if you can’t hack it, you’ll know pretty quickly.
By the 1970s, people started to realize this was dumb. Some lawyers are certainly gifted with natural courtroom flair, but less talented performers can - and did! - learn to match those peers. Over time, clinics and courses developed to employ both practical and theoretical elements of courtroom success.
Therefore, TAW in its current form is guided by textbook readings, in-class lectures, performances and critiques, and evening chats with active judges and lawyers. The textbook is written by a Harvard professor, was first published in the ‘90s, and is literally titled Basic Trial Advocacy - ie, Lawyering for Dummies. Perfect.
FORMAT
We start with the basics of courtroom advocacy, so the first week concentrates on examining witnesses and crafting an opening statement for the jury. The second week focuses on more complex scenarios (say, a long-term criminal scheme rather than a single incident assault), and relying on tangible exhibits instead of witness testimony. The third week teaches effective use of expert testimony in complicated trials – which is great, since many military trials involve expert witnesses!
Each day I’ll meet with the full class or a smaller group to simulate trial exercises. We’re assigned ‘roles’ ahead of time, and prepare for that specific role on each given day. One day, I may be the prosecutor performing a direct examination of a witness; on another, I may be that witness. After the performance, we’ll get immediate feedback from our instructor (mine is a former judge!) and watch demonstrations if necessary.
We’ll also video our own performances, which - if you’ve never done it - IS AWFUL. While preparing a sentencing argument for my summer internship, I video’d myself with each presentation and absolutely cringed while watching the footage. First of all, listening to yourself is brutal; second, you don’t realize the dumb stuff you’re doing with your hands/feet/eyes until you see the tape. But it’s effective, so I’m mentally preparing to watch myself suck on Zoom camera…and discuss it with said judge, who will likely be very unimpressed with my violent hand gestures.
Following a short Zoom break, the final two hours of class are dedicated to lectures with guest speakers. I absolutely love hearing from people with courtroom experience, and bet I’ll get just as much useful information from them as I do from the textbook.
TRIAL
The coolest part of the course is its final three days, which are dedicated to simulating a non-jury trial. I’ll have a chance to “perform” as a lawyer and as a witness. And yes, the syllabus DOES call them performances – not presentations, or mock roles, or anything else. At the end of the day, a trial is a show! And our performances will be critiqued by our trial advisors and the actual judges who sit in to “preside over” the case.
The only downside to Winter 2021 TAW is that we’re still on Zoom. The final trial is usually conducted before a jury of high schoolers and college kids from Boston, which is a great way to understand how your performance reads to a group of non-lawyers. This year, we’ll try a case in front of a panel of judges - still effective, but a little less fun.
Nevertheless, I am beyond excited for the next three weeks. As the first chapter of our textbook says,
“Trying a case is one of the most complex of intellectual functions. It involves psychology, communication, language, drama, artistry, and several kinds of legal and fact analysis….[therefore] the text identifies and recommends specific techniques and approaches, but its primary thrust is not to be prescriptive. The idea is to understand the function of the techniques and to attempt to assign a reason for what is done.”
From the time I saw footage of O.J. trying on the leather gloves and heard a lawyer say “Never ask a question on cross if you don’t know the answer,” I’ve been hooked on this courtroom stuff. Over the next few weeks, the blog will be dedicated to detailing everything else I learn!
