Practice Court Program
Baylor’s Practice Court Program is composed of four courses taught over two quarters: Practice Court I: Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure; Practice Court II: Trial Evidence, Procedure, and Practice; Practice Court III: Trial and Post-Trial Practice, Procedure and Evidence; and Professional Responsibility. Through this 17-quarter-credit-hour program, students develop lawyering skills important to any type of practice, but essential to the trial lawyer.Students hone these skills through intensive study of procedural and evidence law, as well as through advocacy exercises experiencing each step of litigation in the process. They not only try mock cases, including giving opening statements, closing arguments, witness examination, and jury selection, but will also do all of the pre-trial preparation, including filing petitions and answers, arguing motions, taking depositions and using the discovery process to gather evidence. Lectures address the rules of evidence and procedure, but the instruction goes beyond just the rules and cases. Extensive class time is devoted to practical use of the rules, including the strategy and tactics of litigation. Through this program, students not only practice procedures and skills they will need to use in the future, but also develop strategies for effectively and ethically using the law to competently represent clients.
Essential Lawyering Skills Developed in our Practice Court Program
• Attention to detail
• Precision in analysis and thought
• Precision in expression and communication
• Self-awareness – see and hear yourself as others see and hear you, whether they be clients, lawyers, jurors, or judges
• Self-confidence and poise
• The art of persuasion – how and why people think, feel, and act as they do; how decisions are made; consideration of human nature and what makes people “tick”
• Precision in analysis and thought
• Precision in expression and communication
• Self-awareness – see and hear yourself as others see and hear you, whether they be clients, lawyers, jurors, or judges
• Self-confidence and poise
• The art of persuasion – how and why people think, feel, and act as they do; how decisions are made; consideration of human nature and what makes people “tick”
• Understanding of the “realities” of modern law practice
• Understanding of professional responsibilities and ethics, and responsibility to the client and court
• Understanding of a healthy, professional, and ethical approach to the adversarial system
• Organization, prioritizing of tasks, establishing discipline in the use of time, and the development of efficiency, achieved by imposing demands on the students’ time
• Understanding of professional responsibilities and ethics, and responsibility to the client and court
• Understanding of a healthy, professional, and ethical approach to the adversarial system
• Organization, prioritizing of tasks, establishing discipline in the use of time, and the development of efficiency, achieved by imposing demands on the students’ time
