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Notre Dame’s nationally regarded Trial Advocacy Program provides students with the opportunity to develop their trial practice skills and gain litigation experiences through simulated curricular and co-curricular courtroom exercises. Trial advocacy, the study of representing a client in a courtroom setting, teaches law students to analyze facts, think on their feet, ask concise questions, speak persuasively, and master the art of advocating for a client.

Law School faculty, with assistance from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), pioneered the trial advocacy program. Professor James Seckinger and adjunct faculty Judge Jeanne Jourdan and Thomas Singer teach trial advocacy courses at the Law School. Their past experience with NITA enriches their classroom teaching at Notre Dame and provides a unique opportunity for Notre Dame students. Their expertise has made Notre Dame one of the nation’s leaders in trial advocacy.

Students enrolled in the Public Defender Legal Externship assist public defenders in representing indigent clients at the St. Joseph County Courthouse – Trial and Misdemeanor Division. Students can expect to represent clients in many capacities, some of which include negotiating plea bargains with prosecutors; preparing and conducting bench trials; interviewing and subpoenaing witnesses; writing and filing discovery motions; and other activities within the administration of justice.

Notre Dame Law Students who wish to gain experience with various areas of civil legal practice may choose to enroll in the Legal Aid Clinic. Law students enrolled in the clinic work closely with clinical faculty and supervising attorneys to gain valuable experience in direct representation of clients, who cannot afford private-practice attorneys, before local courts, the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, and other judicial and administrative bodies.