Trial & Appellate Advocacy Concentration Courses
All Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration students must complete five (5) required courses; an externship or clinical program; and at least three (3) Concentration elective courses, as follows.
In planning their schedules concentrators should be mindful that the required Evidence course covers foundational material and should be taken first. The required Clinical course will put the student's acquired litigation skills into practice and optimally should be taken last. For those students writing a Thesis, the Thesis Seminar must be taken by the second semester prior to graduation. This allows for any necessary adjustments and improvements to the Thesis in the final semester prior to graduation.
The approved Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration courses are described below. In order to successfully complete the Trial and appellate Advocacy Concentration, students must take a minimum of twenty three (23) credits in the following approved Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration courses, including the five (5) required courses and the required clinical or externship program.
Please note that not all courses are offered each semester and plan accordingly.
A. Core CoursesAll Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration students must complete the following five (5) required courses: |
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1. One (1) Evidence course from the following list: |
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| Evidence | 4 credits |
2. One (1) Pretrial course from the following list: |
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| Pretrial Civil Litigation | 3 credits |
| State Criminal Practice | 2 credits |
| Federal Criminal Practice Seminar | 2 credits |
3. An Appellate course from the following list: |
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| Appellate Practice and Advocacy | 3 credits |
4. An Alternative Dispute Resolution course from the following List: |
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| Arbitration of Domestic and International Disputes | 3 credits |
| Mediation | 3 credits |
| Negotiation | 2 credits |
| Online Dispute Resolution for ADR | 2 credits |
5. A Trial Advocacy course from the following list: |
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| Trial Advocacy | 2 credits |
| Trial Advocacy - Family | 3 credits |
| Trial Advocacy - Intensive | 3 credits |
B. Externships* and Clinical Courses** |
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All Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration students must complete an externship or clinical program. At least 1 course from the following list: |
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| Accelerator-to-Practice Program | 5 credits |
| Family Advocacy Clinic | 5 credits |
| Health Law Clinic | 5 credits |
| Immigration Clinic | 5 credits |
| Human Rights & Indigenous People Clinic | 5 credits |
| Intellectual Property Clinic | 5 credits |
| Litigation Related Externship | credits vary between 2 and 5 |
| Juvenile Defender Clinic | 5 credits |
| Suffolk Defenders Clinic | 5 credits |
| Suffolk Prosecutors Clinic | 5 credits |
*Participation in the Legal Externship Program requires prior approval by the Concentration Faculty Director. Externships must be arranged through the Legal Externship Office in advance of the semester(s) during which a student will participate. For information on the process of securing a legal externship, go to Legal Externships. You are also encouraged to make an appointment with the Legal Externship Office, Room 165B, Sargent Hall, to discuss legal externships further. **Participation in any of the Clinical Programs requires application and acceptance in advance of the semester(s) during which a student will participate. Each Clinical Program has its own prerequisite courses and rules as to how students are selected for participation. If you are considering a Clinical Program, please be sure to consult the individual program's web site at Clinical Programs. You are also encouraged to make an appointment with the Clinical Programs Office, Room 190, Sargent Hall, to discuss the Clinical Programs further.
C. Litigation and Advocacy-Related Elective Courses |
All Trial and Appellate Advocacy Concentration students must complete at least three (3) Concentration elective courses from the following list: |
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| Access to Justice | |
| Administrative Law | 3 credits |
| Advanced Civil Procedure | 3 credits |
| Advanced Criminal Law: Substance Abuse |
3 credits |
| Advanced Legal Writing | 3 credits |
| Advanced Legal Writing - Criminal Topics | 3 credits |
| Advanced Torts | 2 credits |
| TAA Concentration Thesis | 2 credits |
| Conflict of Laws * | 3 credits |
| Criminal Procedure | 3 credits |
| Digital Evidence |
3 credits |
| E-Discovery Law | 2 credits |
| Environmental Litigation |
2 credits |
| Federal Courts | 3 credits |
| Forensics | 2 credits |
| Housing Discrimination Law, Theory and Practice: Brainstorming and Implementing Solutions to Discrimination | 2 credits |
| International Investment Law | 3 credits |
| Interviewing and Counseling | 2 credits |
| Mass Incarceration |
2 credits |
| Medical Malpractice | 2 credits |
| Patent Litigation Seminar | 2 credits |
| Patent Prosecution II: PTO Practice | 2 credits |
| Police Misconduct |
2 credits |
| Workers Compensation |
2 credits |
*Course will be offered every other year.