This event was hosted by Jenner & Block LLP and we had a large and lively crowd.  The audience of right at 100 people was made up of NITA faculty from the Chicago area and many recent program participants from Chicago.  There were some current and former Board members in attendance as well as representatives from Chicago's legal media outlets.  Some pictures from the event can be found here.

A special thanks goes out to the event's sponsors:

Platinum Sponsor:

Gold Sponsor:

Taking place on the Thursday during NITA's Western Regional Trial Skills program, NITA held the next in a series of parties to celebrate its 40th Anniversary.  Participants in the program joined faculty and NITA Board members at the Westin Market St. San Francisco for an evening of foodm refreshments and stories from NITA past.  Board member Mike Kelly welcomed the crowd and Jim Brosnahan stopped by briefly while on his way to pick up yet another prestigious award.  A few photos from the event can be found here.

A special thanks goes out to the following firms for sponsoring this event:

Platinum Sponsor:

Gold Sponsors:

The next NITA 40th Anniversary celebration will be under the bright lights of Times Square in New York City.  Day Pitney LLP will play host to the party and we are looking forward to a great crowd.  Details of the event are below and more will be added soon.

March 10th 2011
5:30-7:30pm
Day Pitney LLP
Times Square Tower
Broadway between 41st and 42nd Streets
New York, NY 10036

Follow this link to view pictures from the event.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

  

The first of NITA's 40th Anniversary celebrations took place right in our backyard: Denver, CO.  Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP agreed to host the party and we had a tremendous turnout.  Details of the event are below.

February 10th 2011
5:30-7:30pm
Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Grand Conference Room
1550 Seventeenth St. Suite 500 
Denver, CO  80202

Follow this link to view pictures from this event. 

Platium Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

2011 marks NITA’s 40th Anniversary. For the past 40 years the legal profession’s best, brightest and most generous advocates have volunteered their time to help NITA achieve its mission of training and mentoring lawyers to be competent and ethical advocates in pursuit of justice.  What started as an organization with only one annual program has become an entity with hundreds of training programs, numerous publications and reference materials, and its own charitable foundation.  Whether you became part of the NITA community near the beginning or in more recent times, we thank you for being involved in the past 40 years and look forward to working with you during the next 40.

Paul Enriquez, a private practitioner in Dallas, has been named the new program director for NITA's Southern Regional Trial Skills program.  The program, held every June at the Southern Methodist University School of Law, was previously directed by Renie McClellan, also of Dallas.

McClellan, who currently practices mainly in family and probate law, has directed the program since 1992 and been a NITA faculty member since 1987.  For the last five years McClellan appointed Enriquez as the Team Leader of the week long trial skills program.

Enriquez, an SMU alum, has tried hundreds of cases in both bench and jury trials.  He specializes in criminal defense in state and federal courts and has been a NITA faculty member since 1993.

Congratulations to Chicago Kent College of Law, winners of the 2010 Tournament of Champions. The team consisted of Joseph Carlasare, Rachel Remke, Julie Levinson, Jeremiah Lewellen. In addition to the team championship, Joseph Carlasare was also the winner of the competition's best advocate award in the final rounds. Keaton Carr from Duquesne won the best advocate for the preliminary rounds. Thanks to all of those who participated! See more information about the Tournament of Champions, here.

BOULDER - The National Institute for Trial Advocacy is returning home.

The nonprofit organization, which provides courtroom training and continuing education programs for lawyers, announced Thursday it will move its headquarters and educational facilities from Louisville to Boulder. NITA will lease 18,500 square feet of the 156,000-square-foot campus at 1685 38th St., previously occupied by Exabyte Corp. NITA's current headquarters is in Louisville.

NITA will relocate 30 employees in the move, NITA director of programs, sales and marketing Daniel McHugh said.

The organization was founded at the University of Colorado in 1971. Since 2006 it has been based in Louisville, to which it moved after spending several years in South Bend, Indiana. "The move allows us to get back where everything started," McHugh said.

NITA officials believe the move will make its conferences and programs more attractive to potential students, McHugh said.
About 1,000 students and 200 to 300 faculty members pass through NITA's Colorado education center each year, McHugh said.

In response to ongoing changes in the legal profession and in an effort to provide new insight into the best ways to improve legal training at all stages of a lawyer’s career, the National Institute for Trial Advocacy today released a free white paper titled “The Future of Legal Education: A Skills Continuum.”

In announcing the white paper’s release, NITA President Laurence M. Rose noted “Although the need for improved training in the essential skills of lawyering, rather than pure legal scholarship, has been discussed for decades, in today’s environment changing the way skills are taught has gone from theoretical nicety to economic necessity.”

Drawing on insights from leading lawyer development professionals, the paper presents “specific, tangible steps that can be taken by law schools, law firms, bar associations and other continuing legal education providers,” says Caren Ulrich Stacy, founder of Lawyer Development Strategies LLC, and chair of NITA’s law firm advisory panel.

With skills as the common thread, the paper’s recommendations seek to stimulate discussion and research across all aspects of legal education. “Understanding the skills which clients value most in today’s legal practice will help law schools, legal employers and other legal education providers in future decisions regarding how we recruit, train and compensate lawyers,” added Rose.

The full white paper is available here.

NITA is the world’s leader in advocacy skills training and publications. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization based in Louisville, Colorado, NITA’s mission is to train and mentor lawyers to be competent and ethical advocates in the pursuit of justice.

Contact:
Daniel McHugh, Director of Programs Sales & Marketing
303.953.6828
dmchugh@nita.org
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