Litigation Center - Frequently Asked Questions

The Litigation Center consists of a collection of courses, mock trial opportunities, dedicated faculty and student organization events designed to give law students all of the information, material, and skills required to be an effective trial advocate upon graduation. In the past, lawyers learned trial practice through on-the-job training after completing law school. Today, graduates need to be prepared for the challenges that face them in the courtroom before they step into it. Classes are small, so every student is able to practice litigation skills such as, interviewing clients, negotiating, litigating motions, conducting witness examinations, making objections, delivering opening and closing arguments, and more. Litigation Program students also have opportunities to participate in more than twenty interschool mock trial and moot court competitions. The Litigation Certificate program recognizes that a student has "majored" in Litigation and has achieved a high-level of achievement in the litigation courses. Any law student - Litigation Center courses and programs begin in the summer following first-year of law school and continue throughout. Yes! These courses are designed to work with students who are afraid of public speaking. For example, Trial Advocacy, the basic trial course, gives students the opportunity to learn trial skills in a supportive atmosphere. Each week, students learn to stand up and conduct one portion of a trial. With each passing week, the student confidence grows. Another course particularly geared toward overcoming fear of public speaking is Courtroom as Theater. That course, focusing on voice projection and other techniques to aid in persuasive communication, is taught jointly by an actor/director and an experienced litigator.

• Evidence
• Trial Advocacy
• Competition: Mock Trial
• Advanced Trial Advocacy
• Civil Litigation: Pretrial Phase
• Civil Litigation: Depositions
• Criminal Litigation
• Courtroom as Theatre
• Evidence in the Courtroom
• Electronic Evidence

Students who are interested in the Litigation Program should take Evidence as soon as possible, either in the summer after their first year, or the fall of their second year. Similarly, students should take Trial Advocacy in the summer before, or the fall semester of, a student's second year. The order of the remainder of the courses should be discussed in detail with advisors Professor Susan Rutberg or Professor Wes Reber Porter. Students are encouraged to enroll in clinical programs to use the skills used in their Litigation courses to gain real life experiences and to work with live clients. Professors include Professor Susan Rutberg, Director of the Externship Programs; Professor Wes Reber Porter; Professor Mort Cohen and Professor Peter Keane. Adjunct professors include Susan Leff, Teresa Caffesse, Caren Cambre, Judge Ware and Brian Soriano, and other practicing lawyers in the community. A mock trial competition is a trial advocacy, interschool competition with student teams of lawyers and witnesses. The students prepare a full trial and compete against other schools. The Litigation Center at GGU regularly competes in national and local competitions. To be a member of the mock trial competition team, students must have: (i) completed Evidence; (ii) completed, or enrolled in, Trial Advocacy; and (iii) been selected through tryouts for the competition teams at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. The faculty may also select competitors from the Advanced Trial Advocacy course. Simply, all students! Litigation courses are scheduled so that all students, including both HLP and night students, are able participate in the Litigation Program. Trial Advocacy is the basic course for the litigation program. Students learn how to conduct a direct examination, cross examination, opening statements and closing arguments. They also learn how to introduce evidence and prepare for trial. The final for this course is a full mock trial at a local courthouse. Advanced Trial Advocacy is an intensive course building on the skills learned in Trial Advocacy, where students conduct several mock trials and continue to improve their litigation skills . Competition: Mock Trial (fall) and Competition: Advanced Mock Trial (spring) are reserved for those students selected to compete in interschool mock trial competitions after open tryouts at the beginning of fall and spring semesters. Moot Court involves appellate advocacy competitions. Students in moot court competitions typically must write an appellate brief and argue before a three-judge panel. Mock trial competitions involve full trials with witnesses and before a jury. No. The advocacy skills learned within the Litigation Center are transferable in either civil or criminal litigation. We also recruit practitioners to serve as adjunct professors and mock trial coaches with criminal and civil backgrounds, as well as from the prosecution, plaintiff and defense side. The litigation program is beneficial for many reasons, particularly because firms looking for new attorneys often look for students with litigation training or experience. Additionally, all lawyers need to know how to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a case and develop case theories. Litigation Certificate Information and Litigation Certificate Application

• Professor Susan Rutberg, srutberg@ggu.edu, 442-6665
• Professor Wes Porter, wporter@ggu.edu, 442-6663

When students complete the above requirements receiving at least a B- in graded courses, then students need only submit this Certificate Application form to the Law School Registrar's Office for verification of course information The form is also available from the Litigation Center's website, the Baxter room, Student Services, and the advisers. Submit the form no later than March 1 for May and July graduation candidates and no later than December 1 for December graduation candidates. The Registrar's Office then will obtain the adviser's signature after verifying the course information. Students must successfully complete the following requirements: 1) Trial Advocacy; 2) Advanced Trial Advocacy or Competition: Mock Trial or Competition: Advanced Mock Trial; 3) Criminal Litigation or Civil Pretrial Litigation; and 4) Five (5) credits of approved elective courses. 13 units in litigation courses are required to receive the certificate of specialization. See Litigation Paths & Courses. To earn a Certificate in Litigation, a student must successfully complete and, if graded, achieve a grade of at least a B-, for the courses listed below.

• Required course: Successfully complete:
• Trial Advocacy (3 units - graded)
• Choice of a required course: Successfully complete one of following:
• Competition: Mock Trial or (2 units - graded)
• Competition: Advanced Mock Trial2 or (2 units - graded)
• Advanced Trial Advocacy4 (3 units - graded)
• Choice of another required course: Successfully complete one of following1
• Civil Litigation Pretrial or (3 units - graded)
• Criminal Litigation (3 units - graded)
• Elective courses: Successfully complete five additional units from, but not limited to, the following courses.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (3 units - graded)
• Civil Litigation: Depositions (3 units - graded)
• Clinical Placement with State Bar Certification (up to 3 units - credit)
• Courtroom As Theater (2 units - credit)
• Electronic Evidence (3 units - graded)
• Evidence in the Courtroom (2 units - graded)
• Intellectual Property Litigation (2 units - graded)
• Moot Court Competitions (1-3 units - graded)

The certificate shows employers that you are serious about litigation and have taken a concentration of courses in a variety of litigation skills. By the time you complete the program, you will have conducted several mock trials. Each year an outstanding student in Litigation is selected to be the Judge Lee Baxter Graduate Fellow in Litigation in a post-graduate position. The fellow serves as a valuable member of the team that teaches J.D. students in the Litigation Program and assists in the preparation of the mock trial competition teams. The fellowship was made possible by a generous gift to the law school by Judge Lee D. Baxter. Judge Lee Baxter is an alumnus of Golden Gate University School of Law. Judge Baxter served as a Court Commissioner, then as a Municipal Court Judge and finally as a Judge of the Superior Court of San Francisco. Now retired, Judge Baxter is a member of the Board of Trustees of Golden Gate University. The Baxter Fellow assists in teaching the Trial Advocacy and Mock Trial courses. The fellow assists in coaching the mock trial competition team. The fellow is also available to students for one on one help as they go through their litigation courses. You must have graduated from Golden Gate University Law School and been a participant in the litigation program. As an applicant, you must submit three letters of recommendation and interview with former Baxter Fellows and professors in the litigation program. Any third year law student at Golden Gate University School of Law who participated in the litigation program can apply during their final spring semester. The application is available in the spring of each year. The applicant writes a letter to the Baxter Committee explaining their interest in the program and why they should be chosen. Also, the applicant must submit a letter allowing the committee to look at the student's registrar records and submit 2 letters of recommendation. Yes. The Baxter Fellow receives a $15,000 stipend for August 15 through December 15. As the Baxter Fellow, you will have the opportunity to go out to three dinners or lunches with lawyers in the community. At the dinner, you can discuss their job experience, law school experience and gain advice about life after law school. The Baxter Fellowship is usually only a semester long, but may be extended to a full year in some circumstances.