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This course covers the steps involved in bringing a litigation matter from the initial client interview through the conclusion of a trial. Procedures involved and ethical rules governing each step are emphasized. Practical tasks involved in the pleading, discovery and trial stages, and an overview of the rules of evidence are included.

TEXT: Civil Litigation, by P. Kerley (5th edition. West Legal Studies)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students will:
1. Describe the structure of federal and state court systems, and identify the courts appropriate for particular cases.
2. Identify ethical issues, balance duties as client advocates and officers of the court, and appropriately apply ethical rules to hypothetical situations.
3. Describe the purposes of offensive pleadings and to draft an initial pleading that states a cause of action.
4. Describe the purposes of defensive pleadings, identify procedural and affirmative defenses, and draft effective answers.
5. Describe the purposes and list the available types of civil discovery methods. Draft and respond to discovery requests, and digest deposition transcripts.
6. Assist in document productions, resolve ethical issues appropriately, and organize documents for trial.
7. Describe the pre-trial process, draft motions and proposed orders, and prepare witness subpoenas and exhibits.
8. Describe the purposes of the rules of evidence, prepare witnesses to testify, and assist an attorney through the steps of a
trial.

SAMPLE COURSE OUTLINE
Each session below represent three classroom hours

Session One: Intro to litigation and review of the court system. Internet Exercise: Subject Matter Jurisdiction Purposes of litigation.

Session Two: Review of personal jurisdiction requirements. Small group sessions: choosing particular courts for specific matters.

Session Three: Review of ethical roles of attorneys and paralegals in litigation. Small group exercises: ethical issues. Beginning representation and starting the attorney-client relationship. Mock client interviews.

Session Four: Interviewing witnesses and obtaining relevant documents to develop the facts. Ethical constraints. Mock interviews. Preparing written statements. Uses in preparing for trials.

Session Five: Identifying the elements of the cause of action and drafting initial pleadings. Video: Complaint in a securities fraud case. Drafting exercises. Drafting to Avoid preliminary Objections and Dismissal, and to draw an answerm. Ethics: requirements of Federal Rule 11 and state law counterparts.

Session Six: Process, and rules for obtaining good service. Internet research for statutory provisions. Completing affidavits of service. Obtaining substituted service and service by publication. Review for first exam.

Session Seven: Defendant's Options for responding. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12. Virginia Preliminary Objections. Rule 12-b-6 motions and Virginia demurrers. Ethical rules regarding answers. Drafting mock answers.

Session Eight: Expanding the Litigation. Internet Research: Provisions governing Cross Claims and Counterclaims. Drafting exercises. Video: co -defendant responses in securities fraud case.

Session Nine: Discovery Methods. Internet research: provisions governing interrogatories and requests for production. Team assignments: drafting and responding to requests for interrogatories. Ethical rules. Video: court approved discovery plans. Attorney client privilege and work product protections.

Session Ten: Document Production. Ethical rules. Bates numbers and computerized systems for handling documents. Arranging for depositions, preparing a client to be deposed, and assisting an attorney at a deposition.

Session Eleven: Methods of summarizing deposition transcripts. Mock Exercise. Meditation, Arbitration, and settlements. Video: Discovery in a securites fraud case.

Session Twelve: Motion Practice. Resolving Discovery Disputes. Pre-trial motions for summary judgment. Research: Rule 56. Review for second exam.

Session Thirteen: Pleadings and Discovery Project Handed Out. Preparing for trial. Jury demands and jury selection. Drafting questions for voir dire. Subpoenas and witnesses. Preparing exhibits.

Session Fourteen: Preparing a trial notebook and assisting an attorney at a trial. Preparing a witness to take the stand. Direct and cross exam. Foundation requirements for introducing exhibits into evidence. Role playing exercises. Video: Securities fraud trial. Ethical rules at trial: zealous advocacy versus duties as officer of the court.

Session Fifteen: The rules of evidence. Research Exercise: finding provisions of the Federal Rules of Evidence. Relevancy, Competency, and Authenticity. Foundations and chains of custody. Rules governing scientific and demonstrative evidence. Use of pre-trial witness statements to refresh recollection or to impeach. Paralegal roles in preparing and preserving evidence. Role playing exercises. Review for Exam three.

Session Sixteen: The hearsay rule and some of its exceptions. Problem solving exercises. Verdicts, judgments, procedures for executing judgments, and notices of appeal.

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