Advanced Civil Procedure Seminar: Anatomy of a Trial-The Burden of Proof

This course is an intensive one-semester practical introduction to the litigation strategies associated with commercial litigation. The course aims to teach students how to efficiently and effectively plan a commercial litigation strategy once the case is being prosecuted or defended by a firm or agency. Students will use legal theories associated with the burden of proof and the rules of evidence to think through litigation problems and formulate an overall strategy for a case, from inception through a non-appealable order or judgment. Class meetings will include legal analysis and strategy formulation in connection with a real (and adjudicated) problem in the commercial litigation arena. Guest lecturers from the bench and bar will lend their experience to the development and refinement of student strategies, and the course will conclude with students’ presentation of their strategies. This course is not intended to teach oral advocacy, interviewing, deposition, or writing skills, but rather to inform the use of those skills, based on the strategic imperatives of the case. Prerequisites: Evidence. Trial Advocacy is recommended.