Clinic students attend a weekly two-hour class that is taught by the Director.  She often recruits practicing attorneys, judges, and other members of the legal community to bring their special insights and instruction to the class session.  Through lectures, interactive classes, and simulations we seek to develop skills in the following areas:

• Interviewing and counseling
• Jury Focus Groups
• Deposition-taking
• Examination of expert witnesses
• Trying a state district court case (a bench trial in North Carolina for infractions and misdemeanors).

For the second Lit Clinic class, students practice their advocacy skills before a real judge in the Forsyth County Hall of Justice using materials drawn from actual cases.  This is their preparation for trying real state district court cases when their clinical field experience begins.

We have also been fortunate that a local law firm has allowed Lit Clinic students to focus real cases using the firm’s state-of-the-art facilities for jury focus groups.  This usually occurs about midway through the term and is an excellent legal learning experience on many levels.

Comerford & Britt, LLP Focus Group Facility

Lit Clinic students prepare for jury focus group for a real case

Professional ethics and values are heavily emphasized in Clinic class. Ethical issues are also frequently raised in our clinic students’ weekly reflections, which are read and commented on by the Clinic Director. We close the semester with a classroom discussion that focuses on lawyering, ethics and professionalism.