Pretrial Practice

Catalog description

This course is designed for students with an interest in pursuing a career in litigation. While many students imagine such careers centered in the courtroom, civil litigators spend far more time preparing for trials. The focus of this course is to expose students to the major steps in preparing a civil case for trial. Students review and then practice all aspects of pretrial litigation, including: tactical and legal analysis of multiparty litigation; litigation planning; informal fact investigation and formal discovery processes; pleading, pretrial motions, and settlement strategies; issues in the judicial control of litigation; and ethical considerations arising from the litigation process. Throughout, the emphasis of this course is practical and student participation is critical. Prerequisite(s): LAW 7330 may be taken as a prerequisite or corequisite.