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Dear Legal Professional
The planning for our flagship program, the 37th Annual National Session, has begun in earnest. The faculty has begun to be assembled, and, as of the time of this writing, we have just over a dozen participants already signed on. As the signature NITA program, the National Session exemplifies the tradition of excellence, innovation, and professionalism that have distinguished NITA programs since 1972.
Led by Program Director Peter T. Hoffman, professor of law at the University of Houston and 1975 National Session participant, the program will include two complete weeks of intensive trial advocacy training, including:
- TWO full jury trials
- Expert witness sessions with both economic and technical expert witnesses
- Motion argument sessions
- Jury selection exercises
- Focus groups for trials
- Special lecture presentations by noted authors, including Professor Steve Lubet
- National faculty, composed of specially invited lawyers, judges, and law professors
- Networking opportunities with lawyers from across the United States and from around the world
The faculty, headed by Team Leaders M. J. Barr (San Diego), Professor Lou Natali (Philadelphia) and Robert VanderLaan (Grand Rapids), is the best that NITA has to offer and will be composed of lawyers, judges, and professors selected from the highest ranks of NITA's national faculty.
The participants will join a distinguished alumni community of prior National program participants, who carry with them their memories from their two or three week experience in Nita City. Those who apply and are selected will have the finest experience NITA can provide, and will be able to proclaim themselves as NITA National graduates. I urge you to consider either attending the National program this summer or to recommend that your colleague attend.
Many of us can trace our success in the courtroom and the profession to our attendance at the National Session. We look forward to this year's program, to the growth and development of this summer's participants and to their graduation and joining the ranks of the over 4,000 distinguished National Session alumni.
Sincerely,
Laurence M. Rose
President & CEO
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Best Practices
Each month NITA Notes features a NITA faculty member or members who provide readers with tips to make their law practice a best practice. This month's featured scholar is Edward R. Stein, Managing Partner of Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Electronic Document Display
NITA: What two problems do you see most often with electronic document displays in court?
Stein: Typically, documents introduced into evidence are far too small for the jury to read. Even when enlarged to poster-size, it is difficult for the jury to read them unless they have the materials right in front of the jury box, likely obscuring the jurors' view of something else. And even if we can solve that problem, the jury will likely try to read the entire document rather than focus on the section we're concerned with.
Some lawyers resort to the "evidence book," the often daunting tome than contains copies of all documentary exhibits. That allows easy reading, but there is no way to ensure that each juror is looking at the page, let alone the paragraph and sentence, that is relevant at a particular point in the trial.
NITA: What is the solution?
Stein: The computer-generated document callout. This enables us to project a large, readable version of the relevant part of a document, while keeping it within the document's context. Document callouts can be created both by the relatively expensive programs developed specifically for trial use (e.g., Sanction), and by PowerPoint, a simpler and less costly program.
It is important to establish a connection between the actual, hard-copy exhibit and the electronic version that appears on a screen. We can accomplish that in witness examination like this:
Q: Please look at Exhibit #3 and tell us what it is.
A: It's the contract I signed with Americraft Industries.
Q: Please turn to page 6. I'll put it on the screen. To whomever is operating the compute: Slide #8 please. The record now indicates which part of which exhibit is displayed and, if the full PowerPoint presentation becomes a part of the record, which slide. Are we looking at an accurate copy of Exhibit #3?
A: Yes.
Here is what the jurors would see on the screen:
Now we display a callout to focus the jury's attention on the relevant provision:
Q: Please look at Section 8.01. I'll enlarge it on the screen.
A: Okay.
Q: And, in particular, I want to ask you about the first sentence, so let's highlight it.
NITA: What if the evidence is not a typed document?
Stein: For that sort of document, the solution is a re-keyed callout that contains a legible and defined version of the relevant material. The examination and presentation proceed as follows:
Q: Dr. Silver, please look at Exhibit #10 and tell us what it is.
A: It's the emergency room nursing note.
Q: Let's put it on the screen. Slide #15 please.
Q: Are we looking at an accurate copy of Exhibit #10?
A: Yes.
Q: Now I want to focus on a particular part of the exhibit. Slide #16 please.
Q: Have you prepared a version of the highlighted portion of Exhibit #10 that accurately sets forth its contents?
A: Yes.
Q: Slide #17 please.
NITA: What's the next step?
Stein: Callouts are the first in making PowerPoint presentations in court effective. However, there are several other elements of electronic evidence display that make it effective. For more help and suggestions on using courtroom technology, NITA offers several books and programs designed to make advocates more effective with technology.
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Are you a NITA faculty member interested in writing for NITA Notes? If you have a Best Practice you would like to share, please contact Sara Musfeldt at smusfeldt@nita.org. |
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NITA's New Program Directors
As of April 1, there are four new program directors on the NITA Program Director roster. Help us in welcoming each of them. Look for more on these new faces in upcoming issues of NITA Notes.
We extend our thanks to Holly Hill and Larry Center for their hard work and their program directorship over the years and wish them well as they move on.
Maureen Howard, Director the Northwest Regional: Building Trial Skills Program
Professor Howard was named Director of the Trial Advocacy Program at the University of Washington School of Law and an Assistant Professor of Law in 2005. She joined the law school as an adjunct professor in 1997 and became Interim Director of the Trial Advocacy Program in 2002. Her research and teaching interests include trial advocacy, civil procedure, evidence, and criminal law.
Professor Howard began her career as a civil litigator in Seattle with the law firm of Stoel Rives LLP, where she concentrated her practice in commercial and employment law. After twelve years, she moved to the King County Prosecutor's Office where she tried criminal felony cases. She later became a Judge Pro Tempore for King County, presiding over both civil and criminal trials, until joining the faculty full time. Professor Howard has taught trial advocacy for over fifteen years: in addition to teaching at the UW School of Law, she has taught trial skills at Emory University and Loyola University law schools. She has also taught at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) programs at Stanford University, University of San Francisco, William Mitchell College of Law, Seattle University, and in San Diego, as well as at the NITA National Session at University of Colorado. Professor Howard serves on the Washington Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, the Judicial College Board of Trustees, and the Executive Committee for the William L. Dwyer Inn of Court.
She also coaches several Washington state high school mock trial teams for state and national competitions. In addition to her formal teaching, Professor Howard writes and speaks nationally on the art of trial advocacy and has appeared on several television programs as a legal commentator. Professor Howard is admitted to practice in Washington and California.
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Matthew Williams, Director of the Northwest Deposition Skills Program
 Williams began his legal career handling death penalty appeals for the State of Nebraska. He served as an Assistant Attorney General in Iowa, where he was the lead counsel for the Iowa State Institutions and also served as Chief Medicaid Fraud Prosecutor. He defended complex commercial and governmental litigation and prosecuted post-conviction, homicide, assault, and other criminal matters arising within the Iowa State Corrections facilities.
In 1987 Mr. Williams joined the Washington State Attorney General's Office where he was lead counsel on complex tax and employment litigation as well as numerous traumatic brain injury and highway construction/design cases. In 1989 he served in the Office of Assistant Chief Counsel for the Northwest Mountain Region of the Federal Aviation Administration. He tried cases involving aircraft malfunction, pilot error, and aircraft crashes and drug interdiction. In 1991 he was selected to lead the City of Seattle's Major Personal Injury Team. He and his team focused on high-exposure and high profile cases including highway design, brain trauma, and conspiracy litigation.
In 1993 he joined Safeco's Seattle Legal Department where he served as the head of the South Puget Sound Litigation Team. In 1997 he opened Safeco's Tacoma Legal Department, which he managed while handling a wide range of matters from personal injury defense to complex commercial litigation. In 2003 he served as a Financial Analysis Project Leader and on behalf of Safeco's Chief Financial Officer, investigated and championed nationwide expense initiatives to achieve expense reduction goals. In 2004 he assumed the role of Product Director and now has direct responsibility for the growth and profitability of Safeco's auto products in four western states.
Mr. Williams serves as an Adjunct Professor at Seattle University College of Law, where he has taught pre-trial and trial advocacy since 1991. He is also an instructor for NITA, ABA's Central European and Eurasian Legal Initiative. Mr. Williams has authored articles on Leadership, Management, Information Technology Architecture, Forensics, and Collision Reconstruction, which have been featured in the Washington Defense News, New York Law Journal, the National Law Technology Journal as well as various professional journals.
He holds the rank of Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and has served as a martial arts and personal defense instructor. He is a private pilot and has logged hundreds of pilot-in-command hours throughout the United States. Williams serves on the Board of Directors of International Sensor Systems, Inc. and on the Board of Directors of Kalos Enterprises, Inc.
Donald Green, Co-Director of the DC Deposition Skills Program
Donald H. Green is a litigation of counsel, resident in the Washington, D.C. office of Pepper Hamilton LLP. His practice covers a wide spectrum of substantive areas, including antitrust, financial, corporate, contract, constitutional, environmental, intellectual property, construction, and tort law. He has been lead counsel in major antitrust cases in the entertainment, telecommunications, and advertising fields. Major cases in other areas include Indian law, highway construction, civil liberties, employment, product liability, and professional malpractice. He has considerable litigation experience against the federal government, being a former Department of Justice trial attorney, and for many years has been on the faculty of the Department of Justice Legal Education Institute.
In addition, Mr. Green concentrates in mediation and arbitration. He has regularly been appointed as a mediator by the federal and local courts of the District of Columbia. He is experienced in arbitrating cases as counsel for a party and as an arbitrator. Mr. Green has been an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association since 1968. He has been retained by various federal agencies to resolve disputes through ADR procedures. Mr. Green also conducts training and teaches courses in mediation and arbitration techniques.
Mr. Green has written and lectured widely on civil litigation and discovery techniques, with articles appearing in the ABA Journal, the D.C. Bar Journal, the ABA TIPS Journal, and the Federal Bar Journal. He is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, teaching courses on trial practice and civil discovery.
Active in firm management, Mr. Green was managing partner of the Washington, D.C., office from 1993-1999, and was a member of Pepper's executive committee from 1993-2000, including serving as vice chairman from 1997-1998. Before joining Pepper, Mr. Green was a partner for more than twenty years in another law firm in Washington, D.C., including several years as managing partner. Before entering private practice, Mr. Green was a trial attorney for the U.S. Justice Department. He joined the Justice Department after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps as a trial attorney and defense counsel.
Mr. Green retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1985 after more than thirty years of service. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his work in international public law, particularly the law of war, and also earned the Meritorious Unit Citation. In 1999 Mr. Green was appointed by the Secretary of Defense to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, where he serves on the executive committee and chairs the equality management committee. He also is a member of the Defense Joint Services Committee on Professional Ethics, the Marine Corps Reserve Officers Association and several other Marine and military organizations.
Richard Leighton, Co-Director of the DC Deposition Skills Program
 Mr. Leighton is Chair of Washington, D.C.,'s Keller and Heckman's Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution practice group. He is a trial and appellate lawyer as well as a commercial arbitrator and mediator. He has a national practice representing business and trade association clients before federal and state courts, regulatory and self-regulatory bodies, legislative committees, and alternative dispute resolution forums. Mr. Leighton is most frequently involved in food, drug, medical device, environmental, and contract issues, especially those related to advertising, labeling, promotion, trademarks, trade secrets and other proprietary information, and franchising. He has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the "50 Best Lawyers" in Washington and is listed in Who's Who and Who's Who in American Law
Among other activities, Mr. Leighton is a program leader at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and an active neutral on the Commercial and Large Complex Case Panels of the American Arbitration Association, the Advertising and Trademark Panel of the Center for Public Resources/INTA, and the National Association of Security Dealers and New York Stock Exchange Panels of Arbitrators. He also is a former President of the Federal American Inn of Court, former Chair of the ADR Committee of the International Trademark Association, and former Chair of the Adjudication Committee of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Among his many publications are "Making Puffery Determinations in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases: Surveys, Dictionaries, Judicial Edicts and Materiality Tests," 95 TMR 615 (2005); "Materiality and Puffing in Lanham Act False Advertising Cases: The Proofs, Presumptions, and Pretexts," 94 TMR 743 (2004); "Using Daubert-Kumho Gatekeeping to Admit Surveys in Lanham Act Advertising and Trademark Cases," 92 TMR 743 (2002), "Using (and Not Using) the Hearsay Rules to Admit and Exclude Surveys in Lanham Act False Advertising and Trademark Cases," 92 TMR 1305 (2002). He also is the co-author of U.S. Direct Marketing Law (Libey 1993).
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Mexico's Changing Criminal Justice System
As reported in the February 2007 issue of NITA Notes, NITA has entered into a partnership with Southwestern Law School, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Texas Tech University School of Law, and the ABA Section on International Law under a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant to provide oral advocacy training to Mexican attorneys. This work was prompted by Mexico's pending change to its criminal justice system from a written inquisitorial system to an oral adversarial one.
For the last several years NITA has provided oral advocacy training to attorneys in Mexico under a USAID program. In January of this year, NITA's work in Mexico significantly expanded through a new agreement with the Programa de Apoyo al Estado de Derecho (PRODOCHERO) and the USAID's Rule of Law Project in Mexico. This agreement extends NITA's reach even further into Mexico by inviting Mexican attorneys to attend various programs held in the United States and by coordinating teacher training programs and other trial advocacy programs in Mexico, as well as providing translated NITA materials. These efforts are intended to assist both state and federal governments, along with law schools and practicing attorneys.
This partnership, much like our agreement with the Japanese PSIM Consortium, creates a formalized multi-year program where NITA faculty will be extending the NITA method abroad. If you are a fluent speaker of Spanish or Japanese, and are interested in teaching abroad, please send an e-mail to faculty@nita.org.
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Andrews Appointed Commissioner of Access to Justice Commission
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NITA Alum Rawle Andrews Jr., the Managing Attorney of AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly in Washington, D.C., recently was appointed as a Commissioner of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission by the D.C. Court of Appeals. The seventeen-member Commission includes D.C. Court of Appeals and Superior Court judges, past Presidents of the D.C. Bar, Executive Directors of leading legal services providers, and other community leaders who are charged with assuring high quality access to legal services for low and modest income residents who suffer disparate access barriers in the civil justice system. Among other honors, Rawle was named the 2006 Pro Bono Lawyer of Year Award by the D.C. Bar Association for his legal advocacy on behalf of low income D.C. residents. |
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Sponzilli Named One of the Best Commercial Litigators in America
Edward G. Sponzilli of the Somerville, New Jersey, law firm Norris McLaughlin & Marcus has been selected as one of the best commercial litigators in America and will be included in the Commercial Litigation section of The Best Lawyers in America 2008. Sponzilli earned his law degree from Rutgers University Law School, Newark, in 1975 and is a New Jersey Supreme Court certified civil trial attorney with more than thirty years experience in complex corporate and commercial litigation. Sponzilli has been a NITA faculty member for twelve years and is also a member of the New Jersey Attorney General's Trial Advocacy Institute.
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The National Session: An Experiment in Excellence
Great ideas are often produced from a need to address a problem within a system, and they are usually the combined work of many people rather than a sole individual's endeavor. Great ideas begin slowly and can be confined within a small framework at first, only to make a lasting and far-reaching impact in the future. Finally, great ideas can be spurred onward by criticisms of an existing system, and can lead to the addressing of more problems in the future than those that were initially specified. NITA was born from circumstances just like this, and within one year of the organization's inception, the inaugural National Session was held at the University of Colorado in Boulder (CU) in 1972.
Today, thirty-six years later, looking back on the life of this program, it is no wonder that each summer close to 100 attorneys travel from around the world to attend the National Session in Colorado. Having trained a total of 4,060 attorneys in all, the National Session is an enduring legacy that in so many ways encapsulates the story of NITA.
The concept for NITA was born from the intense efforts of several legal organizations in 1969 as a result of the Chief Justice Warren Burger's critical comments of the trial bar. After his comments suggesting that half of all trial lawyers in the United States did not know what they were doing, a group of people came together and formed a commission to investigate the problem and see what was really happening in law schools. This distinguished group of people included Tom Clark, Ernie Frieslen, Judge Jim Carrigan, and Professor Leo Levin, among others. Recognized through this intense effort was the need to educate trial lawyers on how to give better representation in the courtroom, something that was not being adequately taught in law schools. Afterwards the group, none of whom received any compensation, appealed for funding and received $35,000 a year for three years from each of the following organizations: The American Bar Association, The American College of Trial Lawyers and The American Trial Lawyers Association. This funding, coupled with the drive to make an impact, led to that first National Session in 1972.
This groundbreaking event was originally scheduled to occur in 1971, but was delayed in an effort to refine and perfect the material. After revision upon revision the group was ready to hold its first training. This program, still in its infancy, was helmed by the cream of the crop faculty. The program directors of the four different sections were; Professor Bob Keeton of the Harvard School of Law, John Kaplan of the Stanford School of Law, Prentice Marshall of the University of Illinois and Jim Carrigan of the New York University School of Law. Not surprising, with the exception of John Kaplan who passed away very young, all of these men became United States District Judges, starting a tradition of faculty excellence that NITA continues today.
 This first session had twenty participants a section. These experimental participants did not have to pay tuition only the cost of room and board. Staying in the CU dormitories, adjacent to the law school, the participants had the added benefit of beautiful scenery. In fact, that summer and every summer since, participants of the National Session visit Chautauqua Park alongside the Foothills in Boulder for an evening lecture. The infamous Irving Younger gave his well-known Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination lecture in this very place for years.
That first session left an impact on everyone that was involved. It was described fondly in an interview of Judge Carrigan in 2007:
Laurence Rose (NITA's CEO & President): "If you had to describe the first session, the 1972 session, in three words what three words would you use?"
Judge Carrigan: "Groundbreaking, exhausting, and inspiring. Because these people were just great to work with."
Not only was the initial National Session directed by some of the brightest lawyers of our time, the participant list is pretty impressive in itself. This list includes NITA's chair elect Leo Romero, Chair Louise LaMothe, Federal District Court Judge Jim Holderman, and James H. Seckinger NITA faculty member since 1973. This combination of excellent faculty and intelligent, ready-to-learn, young trial lawyers led to the success of the program and the cementing of NITA as an organization dedicated to providing above the bar trial advocacy training. NITA has since expanded its scope, developing regional programs throughout the country that specialize in deposition as well as trial skills, expanding with programs internationally, and providing no cost public service programs on a variety of legal subjects including death penalty defense, legal aid, domestic violence, child advocacy, and tribal law.
 Since its inception the National Session has been a masthead for the NITA organization and continues to draw our top notch faculty. This year the program will be directed by Peter T. Hoffman, holder of the Newell H. Blakely Chair in Evidence at the University of Houston Law Center and Director of the Law Center's Blakely Advocacy Institute. Professor Hoffman is the co-author with David Malone and Anthony Bocchino of The Effective Deposition: Techniques and Strategies That Work, now in its third edition, as well as a number of other publications. In addition, the faculty leaders are some of NITA's most renowned and well-known program directors, authors, and professors. M. J. Barr of San Diego, Professor Louis M. Natali of Philadelphia and Robert VanderLann of Grand Rapids head the impressive list. These faculty members are influencing America's next generation of lawyers much as the faculty members did in 1972. Mentoring then, just as it is now, has become a cornerstone of NITA.
This faculty-participant mentoring relationship is something that would not exist within NITA today without the clearly demonstrated effort and overwhelming pride that those initial faculty members had in getting the National Session on its feet. We look forward to incorporating all that we've learned in the upcoming National Session, now approaching its 37th anniversary, at the NITA Education Center from July 12-26.
Scholarships are available. If you or someone you know is interested e-mail scholarships@nita.org. |
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Judge Pincham's Tough Love Will Be Remembered
The Honorable Robert Eugene Pincham of Chicago, a long-time NITA faculty member, passed away April 3, 2008, at the age of 82. According to his obituary in the Chicago Tribune, "His legal savvy and stirring oratory made him a legend of the Cook County courthouse, and put him at the forefront of a generation of black attorneys who jousted fearlessly with entrenched power."
It was this fearlessness and remarkable ability to turn a trial to his client's favor that made him one of NITA's elite faculty members. According to NITA faculty member Roosevelt Thomas, whom Pincham taught in NITA programs years ago, Pincham's teaching style was "tough love. That's how he taught me, and I share that with my students now." Pincham's resume is long, and he was not afraid to show his accomplishments. "He was a pioneer, not just a trial lawyer. He was the kind of person who sought out injustice and tried to correct it whenever he saw it," said Thomas.
"For many years, Gene and his wife Alzata were fixtures at NITA programs in Chicago, Lawrence, Kansas, and Boulder. Both of them dedicated their lives to their children and to the participants at NITA programs. There is now a void in the hearts of many citizens of Nita City," said Laurence Rose, President/CEO of NITA.
To recognize the contributions of this dedicated and forthright individual, the NITA Foundation has established the Judge Robert Eugene Pincham Memorial Fund in his name, with contributions dedicated to providing scholarships for public service lawyers and public service programming, especially for those attorneys who fight for the rights of prisoners wrongly accused or taking on controversial cases that other lawyers will not touch. Donations will go towards scholarships to lawyers who follow in Judge Pincham's footsteps, by giving a voice to the underrepresented.
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Featured Program:
Join us for two amazing weeks of intensive trial skills workshops, worth ten years of courtroom experience at NITA's flagship program, the National Session. Only the best of NITA's faculty-from the country's top firms and organizations-are invited to teach in this one-of-a-kind experience. Participants in this session come to sunny Colorado from all across the country, networking and serving as counsel together for two complete mock jury trials. Participants leave better prepared to handle their clients needs in the courtroom.
For more information on this or other NITA programs visit www.nita.org/programs.
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| Featured Publications
New NITA Case Files
Over the years NITA has published an extensive and highly regarded variety of case files that have helped lawyers first win in the classroom and then in the courtroom. NITA's three newest case files are no exception.
Morgan Cloud's Paul v. Dynamo Sporting Goods, Dillon, and Hanson (pretrial civil case file; materials for A's and B's) is now in its second edition and has been updated to make the file more balanced and timely for today's classroom. A teacher's manual is available.
Also, Rowe v. Pacific Quad, Inc. (civil case file) by David Oppenheimer has been released in its fourth edition. The majority of the changes to this new edition reflect date specific updates, Title VII, and California FEHA.
State v. Tyler (pretrial criminal case file; materials for defense and prosecution) is a first edition file by John J. Francis that focuses on two juveniles that have been arrested for allegedly breaking into a recreational vehicle and causing damage. The file is comprehensive in that it includes exercises on everything from client intake to plea negotiations. A teacher's manual is available.
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Be a NITA Blogger
With the recent launch of The NITA Blog (http://thenitablog.blogspot.com), NITA news is now more accessible than ever. Stop by to learn about Nita City goings-on and to leave your comments and add to the discussions.
We are also looking to expand our blogroll. If you have your own site that you would like to have listed, let us know by e-mailing Sara Musfeldt at smusfeldt@nita.org.
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McElhaney Looks at Jury Selection
Longtime NITA faculty member, Jim McElhaney, is a senior editor and columnist of the ABA Section of Litigation's magazine, Litigation. He also recently wrote a piece that was featured in the April issue of the ABA Journal, cleverly titled "Rejiggering Jury Selection."
He writes: "I would have thought that the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Inns of Court, and other organizations have done a lot to help those problems," said Judge Standwell.
"They've helped," said Angus, "But like plain speaking and clear thinking, simple excellence is still in short supply."
To read the rest of the story, visit The ABA Journal.
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About NITA Notes
NITA Notes is published monthly by e-mail and covers topics of interest to the NITA community.
To subscribe to the newsletter or to view archived issues of NITA Notes visit www.nita.org.
To submit story ideas, to write for the Best Practices section of NITA Notes, or to publish a professional announcement please contact
Sara Musfeldt at 303.953.6841 or smusfeldt@nita.org.
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