In his 2017 critique of the judicial system, The Federal Judiciary: Strengths and Weaknesses, retired Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner wrote, “[B]ad writing is a related bane of the judiciary, the literary culture in America being either dead already, or rapidly dying from the rapid rise in texting and other forms...

For many years now, NITA has teamed up with the South Dakota chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) for a Teacher Training course, followed by either a Trial Academy or a Deposition Academy. This year, the Deposition Academy was held in Vermillion, SD at the USD Law School, July 18–19. According to T...

In just a few weeks, NITA will head to Belfast to partner with the Law Society of Northern Ireland to hold the Advanced Advocacy for Solicitors public service course. This year is especially exciting, as we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of this course's inception. To express our gratitude to the Law Society and NITA...

The U.S. just celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of landing on the moon. I’m in awe, thinking about the risk and innovation involved. Yes, there was the actual launch, but it was preceded by years of research, prototyping, failure, safety concerns, and technology. And by people—scientists and engineers and math...

As part of NITA's international public service programming efforts, a group of esteemed NITA teachers including Board Members, Judge Ann Williams and Geraldine Sumter, along with NITA Faculty, Judge Michael Washington, Stephanie Ledesma, and Judge Margo Brodie, traveled to Namibia for a training on trial advocacy skills wit...

It is always inspiring to read the testimonials of NITA course participants and truly understand how attending the course has helped in their career with confidence, added skills, and overall their professional development. Recently, I got in touch with Lindsey G. Smith, Executive Director of North Carolina's Innocence Inqu...

Is mandatory CLE a waste of time? Most attorneys will very quickly say yes. In Jordan Rothman’s article, CLE Requirements Are a Big Waste of Time, he shares his observations of online CLEs as well as in-person CLEs, and concludes that, generally, no one is paying attention.Mr. Rothman isn’t wrong. Lawyers freque...

On June 4 - 6 in Boise ID, NITA had the opportunity to train 23 attorneys with the National Association of Indian Legal Services, for a public service course on trial advocacy skills. The course was hosted at Concordia University School of Law and led by NITA Program Director, Mark Caldwell. The 3-day course focused on area...

NITA Remembers Hon. Manuel L. Real, U.S. District Court Judge for the Central District of California, who passed away on Wednesday, June 26th at the age of 95. Judge Real was active in the NITA community in the 70's - the early 2000's as a longtime NITA faculty member. According to NITA's Board Chair, Ben Rubinowitz, "The j...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alli KeefeEmail: akeefe@nita.orgPhone: (303) 953.6845Date: June 25, 2019   National Institute for Trial Advocacy Partnership with Legal Services Corporation BOULDER, Colo., June 25, 2019 — The National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) is entering its thirteenth year in partn...