Skills Workshop: Motion Practice

This class meets once a week for two hours per class for seven sessions. It will teach the techniques and tactics used in civil motion practice, one of the most important advocacy devices in litigation. It deals with motions concerning pleadings, discovery, dismissal and trial. The discussion is from both the plaintiff's and defendant's viewpoint and will cover New York State procedural practice but concerns questions of both Federal and State law. This course will be a combination of lectures and "learning by doing” – you develop your ability by applying the skills taught in the context of the case analysis and the substantive law. All students will both write and argue three short motions consisting of no more than 3-5 pages from either a plaintiff’s or a defendant’s point of view.