Advocacy and the Law

Catalog description

This course aims to dispel some of the myths about lawyers as advocates that are common in American popular culture and the mass media. It starts by exploring the adversary system as the means used to resolve legal disputes. Students then explore the steps in civil and criminal trials and appeals, including the participants and their roles, evidentiary and other procedural rules, and substantive outcomes. Along the way, students learn how the most basic ethical obligations of lawyers shape how they navigate this system as advocates for their clients.