Texas Civil Litigation: Pretrial and Trial Strategy

• Semester: Spring 2018
• Course ID: 376T
• Credit Hours: 3
• Unique: 28120

Description

The course will deal with preparation of a civil case for trial, including ethical considerations and client relations, preparation of pleadings, preparation of discovery requests and responses to discovery requests, taking depositions, handling experts, evaluation of cases, and final trial preparation. The class will also cover what every new lawyer needs to know about e-discovery and the use of social media for, during and after trial. Mr. Tottenham and Ms. Varney will be assisted by federal judges, state court judges and seasoned trial lawyers, many of whom have decades of trial experience. Each speaker will offer advice, observations and/or suggestions on trial preparation and strategy. Each student will be given client file materials for a civil case. During the semester, each student will develop the case through discovery designed to simulate "real world" pretrial case preparation. Each student will be required to complete written assignments, such as preparing pleadings and discovery requests. Each written assignment will be graded and critiqued. Class time will be devoted to lecture, demonstrations, and cases in which the student will practice and be critiqued. Reading materials will consist of professional articles and reference materials for written assignments. The prerequisites for this course are Texas Procedure I and Evidence. The course is taught solely on a pass/fail basis. Attendance at each class session and completion of each written assignment are mandatory. Performance will be evaluated on the basis of participation in class and written assignments. There is no final examination. A satisfactory level of performance is required to pass the course.