The primary purpose of the Center for Practice is to enhance the quality of legal practice by UC law graduates through classroom work and extra-curricular experiences. We encourage an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the fields of psychology, economics, communication, rhetoric, decision analysis, negotiation and dispute resolution. Capitalizing on UC’s rich urban environment, the Center draws upon the resources of leading law firms as well as the business and civic organizations to provide students with “real world” opportunities.

The Center also serves as a resource for practicing lawyers, providing a forum for dialogue and fostering opportunities for ongoing legal education and research on practice-related issues.

In the curriculum:
First Year: Introduction to working with clients and clients’ interests

Second Year: Coursework in interviewing and counseling, including individual skills practice with “real” clients and performance feedback. Second year coursework in legal ethics, emphasizing client and professionalism issues, and clinet counseling (including introduction to decision analysis and individual coached feedback.

Second and Third Year Electives: Courses in trial practice, negotiation, mediation, mediation advocacy, and advanced decision analysis which place students in the role of lawyers in simulated cases. (Many simulated cases permit students to work with business people or others as clients or with practicing lawyers as mediators.) “Practice Ones” – mini-electives preparing students for working in specific areas of practice. Second and third year electives focused on legal drafting for transactional and litigation practice coordinated with tax course. Clinical programs and externship placements. Independent projects tailored to enhance individual student skills, particularly through directed video work.

Through extra-curricular offerings:
Any student may participate in intra-school competitions in trial practice, negotiation, mediation advocacy, or client counseling, with faculty and attorney judging, coaching and feedback. Students selected for regional or national competitions receive additional, intensive coaching.

On the horizon:
The Center for Practice is working to develop third year “capstone” courses combining advanced study of law and practice challenges in simulated settings, likely to involve working and learning with local area lawyers. We are also working to develop workshops in a range of law practice management, organizational leadership and presentation skills.

Monday, September 22 - 5:15 - 9:30 p.m.

UC’s College of Law will conduct an intra-school competition to select teams for the ABA’s Regional Negotiation Competition.  This year, our Regional Competition is scheduled for the weekend of November 8-9 at OSU in Columbus and the National Finals will take place at ABA mid-winter meeting in Boston on February 13-14, 2009.  UC Law teams have won the Negotiation Competition at the regional level for the past two years.  More information about the ABA Negotiation Competition can be found at: http://www.abanet.org/lsd/competitions/negotiation/home.html

The Center for Practice is pleased to announce the launch of UC Law’s Competition Trial Practice initiative. 

By Way of Background

Resolved: It’s time for UC Law to commit to serious and sustained participation in trial practice competitions, as we have done for many years in appellate moot court, negotiation, and mediation.

Last spring, a group of students spearheaded by Jerrod Fussnecker (then 2L) proposed a trial practice course tailored to preparation for trial practice competitions and College support for competition coaching.   The faculty approved.  The College said “yes” and promised to find faculty and a coach, and that our Center for Practice would assist with an internal tryout to select students for the course and set up structures for funding travel.

We’ve been working on it and….

We are delighted to announce that Daniel Donnellon, Esq., and Michael Scheier, Esq., both experienced and outstanding trial attorneys, at Keating, Muething & Klekamp have agreed to teach the course.  Brandi Stewart and Christy Nageleisen, both KMKers with trial practice competition experience, have agreed to be “head coaches.”  Many many Cincinnati attorneys with trial practice and trial competition experience have generously offered to lend us their expertise as judges, advisers, or coaches as the year progresses, beginning with the “tryout” phase.

Tryouts for UC's new Trial Practice Team will take place on Monday evening, August 25th, the day before regular semester classes start.   

New Competition Trial Practice Course and Competition Participation Structure

UC Law has offered a 3-credit trial practice elective in the fall and spring semesters for several years.  The new 3-credit Competition Trial Practice course will cover the same basic material, but will be geared toward regional and national trial practice competitions.  The course will meet weekly for 3 hours, from 1:30 – 4:30 or 4:45 on Friday afternoons. Students’ final course project will be their competition trial performances. Students enrolled in the class will be expected to represent UC Law in two fall competitions (in Ohio and Kentucky), and a national competition in February, and of course, to meet outside of class as advised by the coach to practice for competitions.
 
We are seeking to select 8 3L’s for the Competition Trial Practice who will fill 8 positions as attorneys on the team. If possible, all students will have already completed an evidence course.    The Trial Practice Team would also include 2Ls in at least 4 positions as witnesses.  2L’s would participate in the competition and some of the practice sessions. 

Can 2L’s enter the tryouts be in the course and on the team as attorneys?

We do very much encourage 2L’s to enter the August tryouts.  At least for this year, the watchword is flexibility.  We are scouting for talent and we recognize that current 3L’s will not have planned for this in their schedules.  Thus, this year’s team will depend on numbers and talent.  If many talented 3L’s, all of whom have taken evidence participate in the tryouts, 2L’s will be asked to serve as witnesses only for this year, attorneys next year.  But, if there are fewer 3L’s, and a 2L shines in the tryout (and is taking evidence concurrently) we are open to 2L’s as attorneys on the team, for this “building” year. 

Special note to 2L’s and encouragement to tryout and take witness positions on the team: No matter what happens, you’ll learn from this year’s competition experience and it will be great preparation for representing UC as a team lawyer in your 3L year.  Of course, it will also look great on your resume this year!

What if I already signed up for Trial Practice? Or what if I haven’t?

Student who have already signed up for Trial Practice are welcome to enter the tryouts, as are students who did not. If you are selected for the Trial Practice Team, you will have to switch into it and out of the other course. 

We hasten to note that our longstanding trial practice course, taught by Adjunct Professors Joseph Heyd and Carl Stich in the fall and Daniel Buckley in the spring, has always received rave reviews.  They promise to be GREAT again this year, but will not be geared to the competitions.

Packets and Email

Students will receive-mail tryout packets explaining what students need to do to prepare for the competition. For more informataion see the tryout information, tryout agenda, and tryout participation form.

You must let Professor Marjorie Aaron know by email – Marjorie.aaron@uc.edu – by August 12 if you plan to participate and what side of the case you’d like to take.

 

For professionals:
The Center facilitates adoption of best practices and insights from a variety of disciplines, offering:

• Workshop format CLE courses in negotiation, mediation, mediation advocacy, decision analysis, advocacy and persuasion, and presentation skills.
• Opportunities to observe and coach students in critical lawyering activities, including negotiation, mediation, mediation advocacy, and client counseling.
• Opportunities to work with faculty in the creation or dissemination of teaching materials for law firm or organizational training.

On the horizon:
Connection with the greater university faculty and resources in relevant disciplines. A forum for professional exchange regarding skills and strategies of high level practice. Opportunities for enhancing professional skills and judgment of less experienced attorneys through law school based workshops and capstone experiences, under the guidance of faculty and highly experienced attorneys.