Want a Certificate in Trial Advocacy or ADR?

You have successfully finished your first year of legal study, and up to now, your schedule of classes has been predetermined for you.  Now what?  With the dizzying possibilities of electives offered at John Marshall it can be difficult to determine which classes to take, and when to take them.  If you feel drawn to trial work or conflict resolution, the certificate programs offered by the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution can be a great way to plan your schedule and work toward a specialized certification.

Certificates are designed to indicate successful completion of a focused curriculum in either trial advocacy or alternative dispute resolution.  The Trial Advocacy Certificate Program requires the basic JD degree requirements as well as other specialized course requirements designed to give the student a significant background in the field of trial work.  Meredith Shane, JD ’09, and star of the Trial Advocacy Certificate informational video said, “The certificate helped me to be more competitive in this difficult job market.  In addition, the program expanded my knowledge of all aspects of trial advocacy.”

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) certificate also requires the basic JD courses in addition to a minimum of eight hours devoted to ADR in courses such as Counseling and Negotiations, ADR, and Mediation.  Patricia Ross, ADR Coordinator for the Trial Advocacy Honors Board is pursuing the ADR certificate.  She finds that the program, “provides excellent guidance in scheduling, and increases marketability in a legal environment that is utilizing ADR on an ever-increasing basis.”

The certification programs offered by the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution provide guidance and an educational focus in areas of the law that employers are likely to find attractive.  Go to the Center’s website for more information about these certificate programs, or feel free to stop in the Center’s office and speak to a board member!

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Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You! Georgetown White Collar Crime
Mock Trial Invitational

Filled with hot-button topics and ripped from a recent headline, this year’s Georgetown White Collar Crime Mock Trial Invitational problem is sure to give the participating teams a challenge.  The problem is almost identical to the case of Darrick Jackson, a former guard from the Andrews Air Force base.  On his application to work as a private security guard for the base, he was asked whether he goes by any other names.  Jackson answered “No.”  Prosecutors say that he intentionally withheld his Muslim name, Abdul-Jalil Mohammed, in order to conceal his connection with a controversial imam from Southeast Washington.  The Georgetown Barristers’ Council used this real life case to charge Sydney Jackson, a former data analyst from the Kennedy Air Force Base with two counts of making a false statement. 

Sydney Jackson was born Amir Mohammed, however, his upbringing in a predominately Catholic neighborhood led his parents to give him a more “generic” name in hopes that he would blend in and avoid any hostility.  Sydney Jackson also has close ties to a radical, Imam Hassan.  Contained in the problem is the transcript of a "BNN" interview between Imam Hassan and Hank Becker, a BNN TV personality.  During the interview, Hassan admits to siding with known terrorist organizations.  Another piece of evidence that both the prosecution and defense will try to use to their advantage is the application itself (“85P form").  Sydney Jackson left the line asking for “other names” blank, rather than including the required “N/A or NONE”.  Jackson claims that he thought it was asking for maiden names or other official names and that religious names were not included.  However, during a subsequent interview following an investigation by Officer Kendall Buglisi,  Jackson denies that he has any other names, once again.  Ultimately, Jackson is charged with two counts of making a materially false statement in the competition problem. 

The actual case initially came back with a hung jury. The jurors wrote a letter to the judge stating “there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  Looks like both the prosecution (Tiffany Elking and Vince Coyle) and the defense (Mark Abellera and Mary Scholl) have their work cut out for them in developing theories and trial strategies on this highly controversial topic. 

Best of luck to our team!

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Party Favors

There was dancing.  There was laughing.  And if you were at McGee’s Tavern and Grill this past Friday, there was a lot of fun.  That’s right. The second council party of the semester was a huge success!  Thank you to Honors Board member David Lipschutz for providing the council with the opportunity to get together outside of campus. Many additional thanks to everyone who made it to the party.  If you were unable to attend, have no fear. There will be many more council events throughout the year.  Make sure to stay up to date with the future activities and all the latest from the Trial Advocacy and Dispute Honors Board on Facebook.

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Gary Watson. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.

As I sit in Room 413 with Gary Watson, sitting across from me, I wonder “who really is the man behind the desk?”  I’ve known Gary for almost a year and a half now, but even in that time there are so many facets to Gary that I have not been able to uncover; that is, until now.  As I sit here, I notice Gary is wearing a signature long sleeve black cable-knit sweater paired with a nice pair of black slacks.  Black happens to be Gary’s favorite color, and I have to say it compliments him very well. It conveys a classic yet sophisticated subtlety about him. 

If you are wondering how John Marshall came to be so blessed with Gary’s presence in the Trial Ad office, well let me explain. It all started fifteen years ago when Gary first started working at John Marshall.  He began working as the Director of Event Management for ten years followed by working as the Director of Institutional Research for four years.   However, Gary decided to leave that position for another institution.   But, that was not the last of Gary. 

Nearly a year and a half later, (after leaving John Marshall) Gary received a phone call from Sunny offering him a position in the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.   Gary and Sunny had a great working relationship while Gary worked at John Marshall.  So, when the position became available, Gary was the perfect choice.  In the past year that Gary has been back, he was promoted to Assistant Director of the Center. 

So I wondered, “What made Gary come back to John Marshall?”  Before Gary answered, I saw the twinkle in his blue eyes and smile across his face.  He took a sip of his venti non-fat latte, and then began to gush.  “The position in the Center provided a tremendous opportunity to have a role in the ‘business purpose’ of the law school; to work with the students and to make improvements in the delivery of programs and services to the students.”  Gary went on.  “My feelings are that we can greatly improve upon the systems and operations that drive our services from the Center by maximizing the use of the existing technologies and applications we have at our disposal.” 

I took this all in and asked for any examples.  Gary was ready with plenty.  “For example, when I returned the operations in managing the Externship program was paper-dependent.  I saw that we could greatly improve the communications of the program for the students by moving everything online. During the past year, we accomplished that goal.  We now have an “online platform” of sorts for the externship program, one in which a student can go online, navigate through a series of tutorials that provides all of the information about the program in a logical order; provides instructions about how to secure a placement, along with contact information for approved placements; online application forms to register for the program; and, online documentation need during the externship.  In short, other than to drop off weekly timesheets during the externship, a student can learn about the program, register for the program, and handle all of the necessary documentation without ever having to make a trip into the Center’s office.  The end result is that we have greatly improved a distribution channel for the externship program by moving the program’s operations and communications about the program into an environment that is accessible to all students at any time.”

"Another attractive aspect about coming back to the school was the opportunity to work directly with the students in some capacity, for example, the mock trial and ADR competitions.  Aside from managing logistical and administrative functions, there is the opportunity to market the competitions to students, and to have a hand in celebrating their efforts and success: once such way is through the creation of those team posters.”

“Those posters actually have a history that goes back to when Sunny and I first started working together back when I was in Event Management.  We had talked about trying to create better recognition of the students’ efforts in the competitions.   At the time, I was creating large 36 x 24 posters for events and positioning them in the lobby of the school.  That got the process started of doing some form of recognition for the teams.  After my departure from Event Management, the process morphed into the routine process of producing Good Luck posters for the teams prior to the competition, and then Congratulations posters when they advance or win.”

“But when I returned this time, I felt more could be done. Given the volume of competitions that take place during the year for Mock Trial, ADR, and Moot Court, all of the posters seemed to blend together to the point that nothing stood out.  While volume may look impressive, they all looked the same.  As far as using the posters as a means to generate interest, the sheer blandness of repetition reduced the impact the posters could have.  And so, I took the approach of creating unique posters for each of the Mock Trial and ADR competitions.  Last year we started that transition by changing the way in which the team photos were taken.  Instead of the usual grouped headshot, we took ensemble shots in which the team members were grouped in various poses and positions.  This year, we took the next step and themed all of the posters to parody movie and theater posters.  That called for making another change in the way we shoot the team members’ photos.  The photo session is more like a modeling session, one in which each student is shot independently, shooting a variety of poses and expressions.  That collection then gives us a variety of pictures to work with in developing the theme for the particular team’s poster.  The result is a series of posters that highlight the student’s in an interesting way, while generating attention in their uniqueness.”

“Our efforts to focus on marketing the center’s programs and services surface in some other areas that makes it fun being back here and in the Center.  Last spring, we launched Nota Bene as a weekly online newsletter, targeting the student population at JMLS.  To make the weekly format happen, we employ the students on the Honors Board and Council to write the articles.  Doing so works great in getting a student perspective in the article; since it is the students we want to reach. The whole point of Nota Bene is to further the effort in reaching out to all the students about the center and its programs.  It’s a great vehicle to help give insight into what takes place in a competition, for example, to hopefully get more students interested in trying out for a team.  We’ve introduced video into many of our web pages and promotions as just another tool to better communicate our message.  And, we have introduced a variety of graphics in our promotional emails in the effort to make students aware of what the Center has to offer them.”

I looked at Gary, who finally took a breath from telling me all about these wonderful accomplishments that he has been able to bring to the Center in the past year, and asked “any last remarks?”

“When I first started at the law school fifteen years ago, not having a legal background and not having been a law student, the only thing I knew of John Marshall is what I discovered in researching the school; that its legacy was founded on producing students who could step into the courtroom literally the day they graduate. That tradition and reputation in producing highly motivated and effective advocates is what makes it exciting and rewarding working in the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution; not only to work here, but to hopefully have a part in continuing that legacy and shaping its future.”

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