Written By |
 |
Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School |
 |
Associate Professor of Clinical Instruction, University of Minnesota Law School |
|
From the Casebook |
 |
|
|
|
Full Faculty Resources |
 |
|
|
Course Organization
Law in Practice materials can be used in a variety of ways to bring experiential learning into the initial semesters of the law school experience. The course materials are built around the interaction between teaching legal doctrine and developing professional skills. Small group simulations are an essential component of a course that uses the material.
Example Course: University of Minnesota Law School. At the University of Minnesota Law School, where the course materials were developed, students attend a weekly classroom session and a weekly simulation group. The Law in Practice classroom component is organized into six classroom sections of 32-40 students. Each section is divided into smaller Practice Groups of 7-8 students. The Law Firm is taught by full-time faculty, while the Practice Groups are taught by Adjunct Faculty known as Practitioner Instructors.
The Law Firms and Practice Groups are paired with opposing firms and groups for purposes of conducting the simulations in which students engage with the opposing counsel-the deposition, chambers conference, mediation and negotiation. Click here for a chart showing the organization of the opposing groups.
Law in Practice has three units. Unit I of the course focuses on fact gathering and is part of the litigation case file. Students receive time-released information on a condensed schedule designed to mimic the patterns of case development in legal practice. Unit II continues with the litigation case file and presents dispute resolution. Students appear in a chambers conference before a local judge and conduct a mediation with a qualified neutral. Unit III of the course is based on a transactional case file. Students interview and counsel a client looking to complete a deal with another party, and then engage in a negotiation simulation with the student attorneys representing the opposing party in the simulation. Click here for a chart showing the Units of the course.
Students are provided an individual schedule at the beginning of the semester that identifies their role in each simulation and the logistics for each session. Click here for a sample student schedule.
Clients and witnesses for the simulations are recruited and trained in conjunction with the Standardized Patient Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
|
