Law School for Everyone

Using a 1963 Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright, as a window into the relationship between litigation and the American legal system; exploring why this particular system is adopted; why one teaches law in America the way one does.

Approaching legal doctrine actively and critically; Professor Shadel teaches how to read cases with an eye for particular concepts every good lawyer must keep in mind; the role of precedent; inductive and deductive reasoning skills; use of analogies.

All lawyers have responsibilities to their clients and to the integrity of the justice system; the bounds of a lawyer's responsibility; knowing what is confidential; considering challenges arising in the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman.

The case of George Zimmerman; exploring the nature of trial strategy that takes place away from the jury's eyes; learning how lawyers operate before a trial; how a jury is selected; examining how media coverage impacts the courtroom proceedings.

A powerful opening statement requires credibility, persuasion and logic; using the George Zimmerman and O.J. Simpson trials as case studies; going inside the art of crafting palpable opening statements that grab the jury's attention.

Direct examination is popularized by countless TV crime dramas; learning how it works in a real courtroom; knowing how lawyers figure out whom to put on the witness stand; questions they should ask; preparing witnesses for their day in court.