Skills Course Calendar
REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS: Search for desired courses under the monthly calendar tabs below. Click on the "Enroll" link under the course description of the selected skills course and follow the prompts on the course's Canvas page to enroll. After enrolling in the skills course's Canvas page, students must also register for the course Zoom meeting by clicking on the link on the Canvas homepage. Enrollment in the course Canvas page will be closed 24 hours prior to the scheduled skills course. Students who miss the registration deadline may still attend most courses but will have to file a Motion for Skills Credit.
Fall 2020 Skills Course Calendar
SKR3-SOCJ-091120: Racial Justice Advocacy
Date: Friday, September 11th Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm Instructor: Nia Weeks
Learn to advocate for clients and communities on issues of racial justice in a culturally competent matter. This skills course will guide students in understanding how to navigate representation through a lens of awareness of the specific impact race and gender has on our judicial system, including the impact on colleagues of color. Students will explore the emotion experienced by the Black community and attorneys of color stemming from the reality of navigating daily tasks amongst overt racist acts, micro-aggressions, and threatening policy. As part of the lesson, the instructor will discuss the history of race and gender disparities in our judicial system and the impact of those disparities on both clients and legal advocates within the system.
Note: This course satisfies skills requirement SKR3: Cultural Competence. Submission of 300-word reflection required for credit.
SKL-091820: Advanced Persuasive Writing
Date: Friday, September 18th Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Instructors: Prof. Monica Hof Wallace, Evan J. Bergeron, & Todd Wallace
Loyola’s Advocacy Center presents Advanced Persuasive Writing to teach vital strategies and techniques for preparing an effective, persuasive brief or memorandum from trial to appeal. Develop analytical and advanced persuasive writing skills such as framing issues to support your theory, stating the case powerfully but succinctly, weaving case analysis into argument, using authority effectively, and developing a writing style that helps your brief stand out. Students who take this course are eligible to attend a 90-minute "booster" on Virtual Appellate Advocacy at 1 p.m. the same day to learn the keys to success when persuading orally through Zoom or another online platform.
SKR4-092520: Setting Up Your Solo Practice
Date: Friday, September 25th Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm Instructor: Abid Hussain
If you are interested in becoming a solo practitioner, you will need more than just good lawyering skills and legal knowledge to succeed. You will need to learn how to establish, operate, and grow a profitable business by attracting and selecting the right clients and making sure you have everything you need to provide them with excellent representation. Come learn the "nuts and bolts" of how to set up your own legal practice from an attorney with years of experience as a successful solo practitioner. This course will highlight the business model of practice and teach students how to analyze productivity, improve the bottom line, and use other metrics to enhance your law firm as a business.
Note: This course satisfies skills requirement SKR4: Law Office Management/Professionalism
SKL-SOCJ-100220: Defending the Resistance
Date: Friday, October 2nd Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm Instructors: Elizabeth Harvey & Bill Quigley
This course will explore the legal ethics, practices and procedures of two scenarios involving protests and civil disobedience. First, what should be considered if you are asked to advise individuals and/or groups which are considering risking arrest for acts of civil disobedience? Second, what should be considered if you are asked to help a person who has been arrested at a protest?
SKR2-102320: Negotiation & Mediation Skills
Date: Friday, October 23rd Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm Instructor: Cherrell S. Taplin
Lawyers often find themselves in negotiations, mediations, and mediation-like settings regardless of their practice area. This course will focus on fundamental negotiation skills, understanding the lawyer’s role in dispute resolution, applying negotiation techniques, and integrating these skills for an effective mediation.
SKL-103020: Getting It Done in Entertainment Law
Date: Friday, October 30th Time: 1:00 - 3:30 pm Instructor: Allen Jacobi
Learn to draft independent producer contracts and file trademarks for artists from a successful media and entertainment law attorney.
SKR1-SOCJ-101020: Client Interviewing for Social Justice
Date: Saturday, November 7th Time: 930 am - 12:30 pm Instructors: Emily Ratner & Mauricio Sierra
Breaking down barriers to communication and building trust during client interviews are essential skills in any type of legal practice, but they are particularly important for social justice lawyers. This skills course will teach students how to conduct client interviews using a relationship-centered lawyering approach to solicit important information about difficult situations while developing rapport and empowering the client. Students will engage in a simulation based on a case related to a civil rights discrimination case and leave the course more confident about their ability to prepare for and conduct a client interview.