E. DAVID WOYCIK, JR. INTENSIVE TRIAL TECHNIQUES PROGRAM (3 CREDITS) Program Dates: Friday, January 2 Saturday, January 10, 2009

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1 E. DAVID WOYCIK, JR. INTENSIVE TRIAL TECHNIQUES PROGRAM (3 CREDITS) Program Dates: Friday, January 2 Saturday, January 10, 2009 Program Times: Each day, from 8:00am 6:00pm Mandatory Meeting: Wednesday, November 19, :00am 1:00pm Room: 308 Registration Begins: Monday, October 20, 2008 at 12:00AM (Midnight) Pre-requisite: Evidence CRN: Tuition: Tuition Due: $1, Flat Fee Books - $ Additional Fee At the time of registration, no later than Friday, November 14, 2008

2 ACADEMIC OVERVIEW The Program During the January 2009 intersession, Hofstra Law School will offer an intensive skills program in trial techniques. This is an innovative program that, is a single intensive educational experience, provides basic training in all of the basic lawyering skills involved in civil and criminal litigation. Each student s performance will be reviewed by experienced attorney/teachers and by professional actors. The students will be introduced to the essential aspects of litigation skills including: Opening statements Summation Direct and Cross examination Introduction of Exhibits Documentary and Expert Testimony Settlement Negotiation Pre-Trial Discovery Depositions Two Bench and a Full Jury Trial The original intensive trial program was developed by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy for the training of practicing lawyers. It has been offered annually at Boulder, Colorado and regionally at Hofstra, North Carolina, Arizona, Northwestern, Oregon and elsewhere. The program is open to second, third-year and fourth-year students who have completed the basic course in Evidence. Trial Techniques is also available on the same basis to students graduating in January. Attendance is required and is taken daily. Course Description We will be using NITA materials, but we have substantially enhanced the scope of skills training beyond those provided in a NITA program. The NITA method of teaching trial techniques consists of intensive instruction in every aspect of trail advocacy. The trial problems are structured so that students are first exposed to basic problems of identifying and effectively communicating a case theory to a jury. This is accomplished by starting the program with the Opening Statements.

3 After the Opening statement, the student will be asked to focus on the core skills of trial advocacy Witness Examination. Students will conduct direct and cross examinations. From the outset, however, students must develop a theory of the particular examination, decide on an appropriate approach to bring out the facts consistent with the theory, prepare the witness and demonstrate the examination. Students must also anticipate evidentiary objections and defend his or her postion when objections are made by others in the class or by the instructor. From simple direct, cross and redirect, the student must then prepare and demonstrate problems which require laying a foundation and introduction into evidence of various types of exhibit material including documents, photographs, x-rays, maps, charts, reports and physical objects. Further problems, drawn on the special NITA material require students to prepare and conduct Closing Statements. Once proficiency is established in basic techniques of examination, the problems become quite complex requiring intensive preparation. Substantial questions of evidence are built into each problem to develop the student s proficiency in making and defending against objections. Another feature of this program is the training in Examinations Before Trial (Depositions). Each student will take a deposition during the course. Students will be carefully trained in the basic skills of deposition preparation and execution. Special Strategy Sessions will be conducted to prepare each side for its deposition. To emphasize the critical role of pre-trial discovery in the litigation process, the deposition will not be a purely academic exercise. After the deposition, that very witness will testify in a bench trial to be conducted by the same students that took the deposition. During the bench trials the cross examining attorney will rely on the information elicited during the deposition. In this simulation of the real world of trial law, If you don t find out about it pre-trial, you won t know it during the trial. Finally, the student will be trained in basic Negotiation theory and aided in developing the critical planning skills necessary for conducting successful negotiations. In an innovative addition to the program, students will then practice these skills by negotiating both a simple and a complex case.

4 The Faculty Over 100 judges and lawyers volunteer their time to participate in the teaching of this program. All of the Team Leaders have taught in this and intensive skills programs of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. They will come from Iowa and Florida as well as New York City and from the Hofstra faculty. Professional actors will be hired to review your performance. Program Contact Information For further information about this program, please contact Professor Lawrence Kessler, or Professor Barbara Barron in person, or by at respectively. ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registration for Hofstra Students Registration is available online for all eligible students: Monday, October 20, 2008 (commencing at 12:00am) Please note: This is 1 minute after 11:59pm on Sunday, October 19, Tuition Payment Payment is due at the time of registration, no later than Friday, November 14, Payment may be made in the form of an ACH debit (personal checking or saving account) or a credit card (MasterCard or Visa) on the Hofstra On-Line Information System. Students receiving financial aid should consult the Law School Office of Financial Aid, Room 250 Law School. If an admitted student does not pay or arrange for payment by November 14, 2008, the seat will be offered to a waitlisted student. Wait-listed students who are offered a seat must make payment arrangements within 2 business days of registration. Partial need-based financial aid may be available. Applications for financial assistance (Wilkes Scholarship) must be filed by November 3, Please contact the Office of Enrollment Management, School of Law, Room 250 for information regarding available financial assistance for this course (Phone: ( , lawadmissions@hofstra.edu)).

5 Dropping the Course Students may drop the course online by 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 16, Tuition payment will be refunded. The course will be deleted from the transcript. Students who drop the course between Monday, November 17 Friday, December 12, 2008 (5:00pm) will be assessed a $250 penalty. The course must be dropped by filing a Course Change or Withdrawal form (available on the web or in the Office of Academic Records) with the Office of Academic Records. The course will be deleted from the transcript. Withdrawal from the Course Due to the commitment of funds to hire and transport the trial attorneys who will teach this program, tuition of students withdrawing after Friday, December 12, 2008 will not be refunded. Withdrawal must be made through the Office of Academic Records. The course will remain on the transcript with a W in the grade field. On the reverse side of the official transcript, the grade legend describes the W as Withdrawn without penalty or prejudice.