This class is for students who have mastered the basic and advanced advocacy skills and will focus on cutting-edge advocacy theories and techniques. The class combines both lecture and practice sessions focusing on both traditional legal exercises and new non-verbal behavior techniques and other experimental approaches to advocacy. Students will practice mirroring, anchoring and technology presentations as well as storytelling and personality profiling. Students will also spend several weeks learning and practicing how to conduct a voir dire examination and will perform a full voir dire using independent jurors. A final group empirical research project will be presented at the end of the semester. This class operates in a seminar fashion as well as focusing on skills-based training. The class has an extensive reading/discussion list in addition to the skill work and outside research.
Required prerequisites: Evidence, Advocacy Survey or Intensive Trial Skills, Texas Civil Procedure or equivalent and Advanced Civil Litigation (or equivalent such as appellate advocacy, clinics or interscholastic work).
McCormack, Tracy W.