Litigation Skills Program

Registration Deadline is October 26 - REGISTER

Miami Law’s highly acclaimed Litigation Skills Program invites students to engage in rigorous, hands-on training providing them with the practical skills necessary for competent professional legal service. Taught by a faculty of experienced trial lawyers and judges, 60 percent of second and third year law students enroll in this six-credit course. Students who do particularly well are given awards and scholarships.

How Is this Program Unique?

Unmatched Training -- Other law schools typically teach trial advocacy as an intensive course delivered over a short period of time, but Miami Law's Lit Skills Program offers a comprehensive litigation skills course open to all students who wish to participate and it includes pretrial skills and far more hours. Students who take lit skills learn to: write trial briefs, prep for trial, prepare witnesses and gain invaluable courtroom experience.

Integration of Trial, Pre-trial, and Clinical Experiences  -- Bundled into one program, this enables students to develop the full range of skills necessary for effective trial advocacy.

Experienced and Dedicated Faculty -- A full-time faculty member directs the program, and a superb adjunct faculty of more than 50 highly experienced trial attorneys and judges, from both state and federal courts, assist with the lectures, demonstrations, trial and pre-trial courses.

Lit Skills Course Descriptions and Course Registration

Lit Skills I

This course is recommended for ALL law students, even those who do not want to enter a litigation field. Transaction lawyers still need to know what will happen if the transaction blows up and heads to court.
Students learn:
Critical Legal Analysis and Persuasion Techniques - these assist in Public Speaking, Advocacy in Court and other Tribunals, and Networking with Judges and Attorneys
Learning by Doing Approach in Active Litigation - this gives the opportunity to participate as a lawyer in a trial in  a real courthouse before a real judge and the opportunity to work in law offices tasked with real attorney work
Intensive Learning by Doing Pretrial Litigation - develop skills in Client and Witness Interviewing, Deposition Practice, Motion practice (Civil or Criminal), Motion Hearings, and Plea/Settlement Negotiation

Lit Skills II

This course enrolls about 45 students each year, and provides learning by doing instruction in advanced litigation matters such as:

• Jury Selection
• Expert Witnesses
• Negotiation
• Sexual Harassment
• Personal Injury
• White Collar Crime
• Murder
• Conspiracy

Registration

The Litigation Skills department has a separate registration process which is done internally and completed earlier than regular law course registration. Students interested in taking Litigation Skills should visit the Lit Skills Course Registration in Courses & Registration area of the web.  

Litigation Skills Externship Program

Additionally, Miami Law's program is unique in that students who graduate from the course are placed in our six-credit externship program in which they are certified by the Supreme Court of Florida to engage in the supervised practice of law. 

Real In-Court Work Representing Government and People in Real Cases

Miami Law's unique Litigation Skills Externship Program provides students with the opportunity to apply the trial and pre-trial skills learned during the semester in a live client setting. Externs are placed locally, nationally and internationally. See the Litigation Skills Externship Handbook

Certified Legal Interns: Students can apply to be certified by the Florida Supreme Court (and other states) which allows them to represent real clients and the government in criminal and civil matters and argue cases in Circuit, County and Federal courts under the supervision of practicing attorneys.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of Litigation Skills I is a prerequisite for the Externship. Students will also become certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as Certified Legal Interns.

Enrolling in the Externship Program: Students elect to participate in the externship program one semester in advance when they register for Litigation Skills I. All externships are worth 6-credits and require a commitment of 220 hours of service. Students also attend a weekly Clinical Placement and Theory Seminar providing training in advanced skills and professional responsibility. While externships are available during the semester after Litigation Skills I, many students choose to do a summer placement. Students who are placed outside of the Miami area enroll in an online weekly seminar.

Past Externship Placements: Students have worked In offices for “hands-on” work at Legal Aid organizations and government agencies, both locally and nationally, including:

• Department of Homeland Security
• County State Attorney's offices
• City Attorney 0ffices
• The Securities and Exchange Commission
• ACLU
• Attorney General offices
• EEOC
• County Public Defender's offices

For Information: Contact Michelle Rodriguez, Secretary, Litigation Skills Program; Phone: 305-284-2303; E-mail: mrodriguez1@law.miami.edu

Juror Registration

To register and participate as a juror the Litigation Skills final trials, click here. 

Lit Skills Faculty

The Lit Skills Program is taught by experienced trial lawyers and judges and a position to teach in the program is a sought after role. Federal and state judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and private attorneys work closely with student
presentations in simulated courtroom and law office situations.

Litigation Skills Adjunct Faculty

Litigation Skills Clinical Externships Faculty