Reports of the demise of trials have been greatly exaggerated. The legal profession continues to demand advocates who have mastered trial advocacy skills, as well as the professional responsibility obligations attendant to trial advocacy. Especially in today’s highly charged and politicized environment, attorneys must be prepared to effectively try cases, whether to incentivize a settlement in their client’s favor or to represent a client who wants and deserves his or her day in court. This symposium explores how the legal education profession is preparing students for these modern-day demands. Specifically, it addresses the following questions: how can a trial advocacy curriculum better incorporate professionalism, diversity, equity, and inclusion? What role does competitive advocacy, specifically mock trial teams, play in the teaching of advocacy and professionalism? How can trial advocacy programs teach their teachers to ensure that students leave law school with the skills necessary to effectively try cases before judges, arbitrators, and juries?

Teaching the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers

Kimball R. and Karen Gatsis Anderson Center for Advocacy and Professionalism 
Spring 2023 Symposium

Friday, May 19, 2023
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Winston & Strawn LLP
35 W. Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois, 60601