Owner: The NITA Blog URL:http://thenitablog.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:08:34 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Commentary and news directly from NITA as well as unique and interesting blog posts from NITA faculty and authors. Site statistics:Click here
Trial Skills in Action 2008-04-03 16:58:00 From March 13-15, sixty-five child advocates attended a NITA Advanced Trial
Advocacy Skills
program at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. The program was directed by Terre Rushton and held in conjunction with the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia. Participants reported the program was a success and these pictures illustrate just that. Read more:Action
21 Questions to Consider When Starting a Deposition 2008-04-03 16:26:00 Originally featured in the September 2007 issue of NITA Notes, faculty member James L. McCrystal Jr. of Brzytwa Quick & McCrystal, LLC in Cleveland, Ohio, shares some of his best practices when it comes to initial questions.Best Practices: Initial QuestionsHow many depositions have you seen that start with questions like, “Will you let me know if you are confused?” “Do you understand that you have to answer the questions out loud?” All too often, the witness responds with a “yes” or at times the inarticulate nod of the head or an “uh ha” response.Try this approach; ask questions such as, “What will you do if you don’t understand a question?” and, “What will you do if you know we have a document that will help you better answer a question?” These questions get
Mexico’s Changing Criminal Justice System 2008-03-24 09:49:00 As reported in the February 2007 issue of NITA Notes, NITA has entered into a partnership with Southwestern Law School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Texas Tech University School of Law, and the ABA Section on International Law under a United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) grant to provide advocacy training to Mexican attorneys. This work was prompted by Mexico
’s changing criminal justice system from a written inquisitorial to an oral adversarial system.In January of this year, NITA’s work in Mexico was expanded by entering into an agreement with the Programa de Apoyo al Estado de Derecho (PRODOCHERO) and the USAID’s Rule of Law Project in Mexico. This agreement extends NITA’s reach even further into Mexico by inviting Mexican attorneys to attend various progr Read more:Changing
, Criminal
, Justice
, System
, Justice System
Azerbaijan Attorney Given NITA Scholarship 2008-03-13 15:44:00 Extortion, corruption, assault, fighting for the benefits due a World War II veteran who had been on the waiting list for nearly forty years… this is a sampling of the work in cases brought to the lawyers at the Legal Advocacy Center in Baku, Azerbaijan
. The NITA Foundation is pleased to award a scholarship to attend the March Teacher Training Program in Boston to Mehriban Ovchuyeva, an attorney working for the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative in Baku, Azerbaijan. Working in the Legal Advocacy Center in Baku, which is the capital city of Azerbaijan, Mehriban provides pro-bono legal services for citizens on such issues as human rights, education, family law, and employment law. After completing this program, she will have the necessary skills to train other attorneys in Read more:Attorney
, Given
, Scholarship
NITA in the YouTube Dimension 2008-03-13 15:36:00 A simple search on YouTube
for “trial advocacy” will bring up many different relevant videos including one of NITA’s very own productions. Surf on over today to learn more about the NITA Foundation and all that it does for advocates and the community. And while you’re there, do a search for Jim Carrigan to see the Hon. Jim R. Carrigan talk about NITA beginnings. Read more:Dimension
Carnegie Report Reinforces the NITA Mission 2008-02-28 16:20:00 A Special Perspective from NITA’s Educational Consultant, Jeanne PhilotoffAs mentioned in our recent post, The Carnegie Report, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching released a report in March 2007 that reinforces what the McCrate Report found in 1992 and what the NITA faculty and staff have known for decades. The message: legal skills training must become an essential part of law school curriculum. Legal education needs to evolve to become more linked to the practical requirements of practicing law.Most people familiar with NITA know that we started as a task force of the American Bar Association. The success of NITA was immediate. It must be noted that many of our original programs took place at the law schools where these very discussions on learning-by-doing are tak Read more:Mission
The PSIM Consortium and NITA 2008-02-19 15:05:00 On February 9 several individuals from NITA traveled to Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, to discuss and plan for NITA’s relationship with the PSIM Consortium
, a collection of 25 law schools throughout Japan that are dedicated to improving the study of law. For the next three years NITA will be working with the Consortium to provide translated materials, a faculty exchange, a customized teacher training program, and allow for many of the participating Japanese professors to attend NITA programs in the United States so that members of the Consortium can get a feel for the NITA method.According to Lonny Rose, NITA's CEO & President, the goal is to develop the curriculum and methods to increase the skills of future Japanese lawyers and to promote the public’s confidence in the Japanese justice
The Carnegie Report 2008-02-05 12:38:00 At the recent American Association of Law Schools Convention in New York City there was much buzz about the March 2007 Carnegie Foundation Report on Educating Lawyers. The future of legal education is evolving from one of theory and lecture to practice in the first year of law school. This is an exciting time for NITA. One that promises growth in learning by doing.More to come...
Legal Education Renaissance 2008-02-05 11:47:00 NITA Program Director and Author, John Sonsteng recently launched a new project titled the Legal EducationRenaissance
through William Mitchell College of Law where he is a professor.Here is an excerpt from the William Mitchell Web site:The Legal Education Renaissance project began more than a decade ago. Two colleagues and I talked about how little we knew about the practice of law when we graduated from law school. We agreed that as new lawyers, we did not understand what it meant to be a lawyer. My colleagues asked why no one was doing anything to improve the legal education system and challenged me to do something about it.To read the rest and to participate in the forum visit -Education-Renaissance/
McElhaney Looks at Jury Selection 2008-04-03 17:29:00 Longtime NITA faculty member, Jim McElhaney, is a senior editor and columnist of the ABA Section of Litigation's magazine, Litigation. He also recently wrote a piece that was featured in the April issue of the ABA Journal, cleverly titled "Rejiggering Jury Selection."He writes: "I would have thought that the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Inns of Court, and other organizations have done a lot to help those problems," said Judge Standwell."They've helped," said Angus, "But like plain speaking and clear thinking, simple excellence is still in short supply."To read the rest of the story, visit The ABA Journal. Read more:Looks
Best Practices in Winning Bench Trial Tactics, What Not To Do 2008-04-03 17:19:00 Originally featured in the December 2007 issue of NITA Notes, NITA faculty member, The Honorable Robert L. McGahey, Jr., district judge of the Second Judicial District in Denver, writes about his best practices in bench trials.Best Practices
: How to Lose a BenchTrial
Trial lawyers (and the people who teach them) tend to focus on improving jury trial skills. There is a good reason for this: jury trials are more interesting, jury trials are more fun, jury trials (at least in the conventional wisdom) require a more sophisticated set of skills to win. Important to remember, however, is that many more proceedings are bench trials, or things that look, walk, and quack like bench trials, such as domestic relations proceedings, administrative hearings, hearings on motions, etc. It is also importa Read more:Winning
Temple's Law Library Blog 2008-04-28 11:01:00 Temple’s Law Library
Blog wrote a generous description of NITA’s new case file, State v. Tyler by John F. Francis. To read this and other posts about NITA publications visit the Trial Advocacy Blog. Read more:Temple
The NITA Method in Action 2008-05-08 13:07:00 As NITA's Chief Operating Officer, it's my continuing privilege to visit NITA programs across the country and see the NITA method in action. After conversations with dozens of our faculty, I couldn't help but observe an interesting, and consistent, paradox: While the NITA method, with its focus on the student rather than the teacher, is explicitly not about the faculty member, the faculty also benefit greatly from the interaction.What it comes down to, from my view, is the answers to two related questions. When asked what they like best about teaching, most faculty (and all of our best faculty) suggest that it has to do with the satisfaction of seeing the attorneys they work with improve and expand their skills - sometimes over the course of years, as NITA relationships so often carry-ove Read more:Action
The Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination 2008-05-19 12:06:00 In the summer of 1975 NITA’s faculty member, Irving Younger, lectured to 182 program participants of NITA’s National Session. The result of this lecture is the video of Younger’s well-known speech, The Ten Commandments
of Cross
-Examination. That year, like all years at the National Session, the lecture is given on Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder, Colorado.The Ten Commandments of Cross-Examinat
How to Try a Jury Case 2008-05-29 16:56:00 How to Try a Jury Case: Trial Tactics, by John F. Kimberling, recently published by NITA, has been well-received by the legal community. The following reviews underscore that the practical advice it offers deems it an important addition to any trial lawyer’s bookshelf.“…a must-read for all trial lawyers, whether the lawyer is new to the practice or simply want to brush up on some trial tech
NITA Earns Top Awards from ACLEA 2008-05-30 10:01:00 The Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) honored NITA with the Award for Professional Excellence for its book, Winning at Trial by D. Shane Read and the Award for Outstanding Achievement for its 2008 Brand Campaign Design: The Journey. ACLEA grants only 15 annual awards to competitors representing more than 300 organizations.The Award for Professional Excellence is the top prize; onl Read more:Awards
Rule of Law: NITA Taking It Up a Notch 2008-06-10 10:12:00 by Jennifer LongAs a staff member in the Development office for the NITA Foundation, I work with those who focus on NITA’s public service efforts, making possible scholarships for public service attorneys who couldn’t afford tuition, and applying for grant funding for free and reduced tuition programs which fill a need in the legal community. One of our recent milestones was creating a partner Read more:Taking
, Notch
CLE in the Summertime 2008-06-25 15:08:00 Many attorneys choose to mix their CLE obligation with a little rest and relaxation. Although firms don’t always encourage destination trainings, there is no denying the appeal.CLE providers across the country are aware of the draw a short summer program has and have tailored their schedules to provide participants with ample opportunity to learn and have a little fun at the same time. For insta Read more:Summertime
NITA Program Directors Leading Many Law Schools 2008-06-19 15:00:00 NITA has always worked hand-in-hand with law schools to develop programs and a curriculum that emphasize the importance of trial advocacy training for their students, and this is still evident with the presence of NITA’s program directors and faculty in law school leadership positions. NITA and these distinguished deans are constantly working together to craft the best possible environment to be Read more:Program
, Directors
, Leading
, Schools
A Milestone: June 11 Marks NITA’s 37th Birthday 2008-06-11 15:30:00 The articles of incorporation for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy were officially signed on June 11, 1971 by Thomas S. Jackson, Frank R. Roberson, and Edward F. Howrey. Happy Birthday
NITA.
Attorney Recognitions and Designations 2008-07-07 15:09:00 There are many organizations and publications that recognize attorneys based on their accomplishments. Some in the mix include Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who, NLJ’s 40 Under 40, and many others.So what sets NITA’s designation program apart from the rest? Several elements do.1) NITA’s recognizes accomplishments in litigation skills through completion of several rigoro Read more:Attorney
My Time in Nita City 2008-06-30 17:20:00 Are you a NITA program participant with an experience to share? Comment here or contact us to to tell us about it—just like NITA program attendee, Jennifer R. Hersh, staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, LLC, Hamilton, OH. "Two days after my return from Rocky Mountain Child Advocacy Training Institute (RMCATI), I had a battle royale in shelter care in which I had to contest
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